The Yard Theatre has announced a two-week extension for its revival of Ntozake Shange’s groundbreaking choreopoem for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf.
Directed by JMK Award winner Diane Page, the production will now run from 2 September to 17 October 2026, with press night taking place on 8 September.
Presented 50 years after its original premiere, the landmark work marks the grand reopening of The Yard Theatre following a major redevelopment of its Hackney Wick home by architect Takero Shimazaki.
The cast features Tatenda Naomi Matsvai, Nadine Higgin, Cherrelle Skeete, Alex Thomas-Smith and Ibilola Rossi, with original music by Jammz.
Blending poetry, music, movement and storytelling, Shange’s celebrated work explores love, violence, joy, grief and survival through a series of interconnected stories. The production arrives more than five decades after the piece first premiered and enjoyed a two-year run on Broadway.
The Yard describes the work as “A landmark of theatre. Long overdue in London.”
The production’s creative team includes choreographer Ingrid Mackinnon, costume designer Cat Fuller, sound designer Esther Kehinde Ajayi, lighting designer Ali Hunter and casting director Heather Basten CDG.
Alongside the production, The Yard will host a programme of special events including a writers’ night, a club night curated by Jammz, a Black Out Night for Black femmes, a conversation between Diane Page and Booker Prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo, and a film club.
The extension follows strong demand for the production, which is one of the centrepieces of The Yard’s reopening season in its new 220-seat auditorium.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
