The Yard Theatre have announced the casting for the premiere of An unfinished man by Dipo Baruwa-Etti. Directed by Taio Lawson the production runs from Friday 17 April to Saturday 16 May with a captioned performance on Thursday 14 May.
Fode Simbo (Young Marx, Bridge Theatre; Little Women, BBC) will play Kayode, Teri Ann Bobb-Baxter (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, National Theatre; Bridgerton, Netflix) will play Kikiope, Diveen Henry (Hamlet, Barbican; Get Away From Me, Royal Court) will play Layo, Mark Springer (Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads, Chichester Festival Theatre; Doctor Who, BBC) will play Matanmi and Ruthxjiah Bellenea (Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, Palace Theatre; Dark Money, BBC) will play Viola/Itan.
An unfinished man centres around Kayode, a British-Nigerian man in East London who has been unemployed for seven years. His wife wants him to seek therapy, but his mother and her pastor believe he has been cursed as a baby in Nigeria and want him to try to break the spell through prayer. Centring witchcraft and magic alongside the clash between West African and Western attitudes to mental health, An unfinished man tells a vital story of a young black man in today’s East London, affected by the interplay of structural racism, gentrification, and society’s expectations of men.
Tickets start at £10, with £5 tickets on the door for under 26s and 30% off for local residents with a free Yard Local Card.
