Central and the Talawa Theatre Company

Central is excited to announce it is working with Talawa Theatre Company in exploring opportunities to diversify intake and course content in order to support students from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds.

Talawa is Britain’s primary Black-led theatre company, founded in 1986 by Yvonne Brewster, Carmen Munroe, Mona Hammond and Inigo Espejel to counter the lack of creative opportunities for actors from minority ethnic backgrounds. The Talawa Young People’s Theatre (TYPT) is an annual summer school for anyone involved in making theatre: performers, designers, stage managers, writers, directors and technicians aged 18-25 years old. It is an intensive four-week summer school during which participants work under the guidance of professional practitioners to develop skills and create a brand new piece of theatre for performance in a professional London venue. This year’s performances will be held in Centrals historic Embassy Theatre.

Twelve 18-25 year olds will be working with theatre professionals, director Anthony Lennon and choreographer Coral Messam, to devise a piece which will be performed at Central with public performances on Thursday 23, Friday 24 & Saturday 25 August.

Hear what they have to say.

A Central alumnus and past graduate from TYPT, Nonso Anozie, has enjoyed great success appearing in Death and the King's Horseman at the National Theatre, playing the youngest-ever Lear in a RSC production of King Lear , appearing in Atonement and, more recently, Game of Thrones.

Central is committed to Equality and Diversity and we are very much looking forward to working with Talawa Theatre Company in order to continue to support its growing community of BAME students.

Deputy Dean of Studies, Catherine McNamara says:

‘I’m really excited that Central is able to host TYPT 2012. The work of Talawa, and specifically the Young People’s Theatre is exceptional. We already share some graduate students and we’ll be proud to have a new group of young Black performers, designers, stage managers, writers, directors and technicians creating work for the Embassy Theatre this August. Paul Robeson performed on the same stage in 1935. Nearly 80 years later, I’m looking forward to experiencing what I know will be an impressive new piece of theatre directed by Anthony Ekundayo Lennon.’

Productions from previous years include This is England (TYPT 2011) and Sold (TYPT 2010). 
View previous TYPT productions