Talawa Theatre Company has announced a major 40th anniversary celebration, bringing together some of the UK’s most acclaimed Black theatre artists for a one-night-only event at Hackney Empire on 13 October 2026.
Talawa Iconic will celebrate the company’s pioneering contribution to Black British theatre, showcasing excerpts from productions spanning its four-decade history.
The evening will open with a speech from Olivier Award-nominated actor and Hackney Empire trustee Josette Bushell-Mingo OBE, whose career includes acclaimed performances in The Lion King and Nina – A Story About Me and Nina Simone.
Audiences can expect performances from a range of landmark Talawa productions, including The Black Jacobins, The Importance of Being Earnest, Antony & Cleopatra, King Lear, Girls, Run It Back, A Place for We, Recognition, Play On! and Fragments of Us.
Music throughout the evening will be provided by Chineke! Quartet, celebrating the breadth and impact of Talawa’s work since its founding in 1986.
BBC star Tameka Empson will return to the Hackney Empire stage alongside long-standing Talawa collaborator Ben Thomas to revisit Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.
Award-winning playwright Theresa Ikoko will present an excerpt from her Alfred Fagon Award-winning drama Girls, which Talawa first supported through its Talawa Firsts programme before producing the play.
Original cast member David Webber will reunite with Laurence Ubong Williams for a performance from A Place for We, while Lifford Shillingford will perform material from Talawa’s acclaimed musical revival Play On!.
The evening will also feature a special tribute to Talawa co-founder Yvonne Brewster OBE, including a performance from her groundbreaking 1991 production of Antony & Cleopatra. Doña Croll will return to the role of Cleopatra, which made history when she became the first Black actor to play the role professionally on the British stage.
Talawa Artistic Director Michael Buffong said: “It’s a real joy and privilege for us to bring such a selection of phenomenal Black talent to the stage to celebrate our 40th anniversary. The evening will be uniquely Talawa, displaying the breadth and depth of talent and stories we have collaborated on over the years. This is one not to be missed.”
Founded in 1986 by Yvonne Brewster OBE, Mona Hammond OBE, Carmen Munroe DBE and Inigo Espejel, Talawa Theatre Company was established to address the lack of opportunities for Black actors on British stages and remains one of the UK’s leading Black theatre companies.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
