tiata fahodzi, the UK’s leading British African heritage contemporary touring theatre company, presents the London Premiere of cheeky little brown by Papatango Prize-winning playwright Nkenna Akunna – coming to Theatre Royal Stratford East, Tuesday 16 – Saturday 20 April 2024.
How do you break up with your best friend?
“When you’ve known someone basically your whole life,
Since you were five,
And you know all the same people,
And everyone you know knows you as one special Thing,
Sister-friends.”
Part musical, part drama, cheeky little brown is a profound, surreal and comic exploration of friendship, queer love, and heartbreak studded with snappy comedic intrigue and glittering prose. A solo show starring Tiajna Amayo as Lady – a determined, sharp-tongued charmer who loves her best friend Gemma and a good night out – cheeky little brown explores a coming-of-age story that examines a friendship between two Black women on diverging paths of self-love and acceptance.
Directed by Chinonyerem Odimba and featuring original songs by Akunna, tiata fahodzi’s latest theatre work presents a skillfully written foray into a young woman’s life and personal struggles with change.
Akunna said: ‘cheeky little brown is an ode to your early twenties, a second coming of age, an aesthetically pleasing panic attack. It’s a story about a young woman’s resistance to change in the people and the city she calls home, and ultimately her journey toward a new beginning.’
Chinonyerem Odimba added: ‘This beautiful contemporary anti-romcom by Nkenna Akunna brings story and song together in this intimate drama centred around Lady’s life, and how she will survive confronting love and life at a birthday party. How we celebrate the moments of growing into ourselves no matter how painful and funny – be ready for night bus banter and addictive songs. This feels like a tiata fahodzi play in its truest sense.’
cheeky little brown continues tiata fahodzi’s 25th anniversary commitment to investing in the future of African heritage artists and giving voice to their contemporary world. The production marks British Nigerian playwright Akunna’s first play to be staged as a fully realised production.
Following a successful premiere tour co-produced by Bristol Old Vic and Belgrade Theatre in Autumn 2023, cheeky little brown will open to audiences in London for the first time in April 2024.
