Following its powerful debut at the Bunker Theatre, Justina Kehinde’s latest new play UMUADA headlines the King’s Head Theatre’s 2018 Play Mill Festival.
Anwu is turning 60. Against her wishes, her daughters, Nike and Tolu are planning a party , their older brother, Chi, is nowhere to be seen and their dad is in Nigeria “building the family home” that never seems to finish. In the midst of the chaos, Anwu struggles to hold her family together, and hold onto herself in the process.
Exploring mental health, migration and motherhood in the urban African diaspora, UMUADA (meaning ‘first born daughters’ in Igbo) is a poignant yet witty family drama exploring the innate and often unacknowledged process of un-becoming first generation migrant-women are forced to experience – and moreover survive – if their husbands, children and communities are to thrive.
“Mental health within the black community is not a stand alone issue – it intersects with our socio-economic, racial and psychological struggles, many of which are exacerbated through the disruption of diaspora, the dislocation of migration, and, when it comes to women, the strain of motherhood.” – Justina Kehinde, Writer & Director
Led by a cast and creative team of black British women, a post-show Q&A will continue the conversation around gender, race and mental health. Based on the short play by Justina Kehinde and Yosola Olorunshola, UMUADA premiered at the Bunker Theatre in November 2017 as part of Damsel Productions Women Director’s Festival.
UMUADA is at The King’s Head Theatre 10th – 14th July 2018.
