What are the rules of being Black? Who gets to define what it means to be Black? How do we have these discussions when we know a non-Black audience is watching? Scenes with Black Folk is a bold new ritual play that fuses absurdity, comedy, and raw emotion in its exploration of Blackness, identity, and racism in predominantly white spaces. Written and directed by Joy Nesbitt, this reading of Scenes with Black Folk is an opportunity to engage with an anti-trauma-porn exploration of identity in a world constantly in conversation about race.

In Scenes with Black Folk, four “somebodies” perform surreal attempts to name and confront their everyday experiences of their identity. With a heightened awareness of themselves and their audience, they navigate grotesque, absurd, and darkly comedic scenarios to expose the absurdity of racism, all while wrestling with their past, presents, and futures in this world. 

Written and Directed by Joy Nesbitt

Produced by Sophie Cairns, SHITE Productions

Performed by Rachael Adeyoluwa, Jonathan Heed, Tishé Fatunbi, and Eithne Garricks