Listen, A Black Woman Is Speaking – Talkback 

Common Crow are delighted to welcome audiences back for ‘Listen, A Black Woman is Speaking – Talkback’, on Saturday 16th December at 2:30pm, in The Cube at the big blue building. 

In light of recent events, we want to share a note from Common Crow Theatre, to encourage audiences to return to Project for a safe space to discuss the themes of ‘Listen, A Black Woman is Speaking’:

“Thursday the 23rd November is a date that many people will remember vividly. The staged reading of “Listen, A Black Woman Is Speaking” by Marlow Wyatt had been a great success, bringing a diverse and primarily Black audience into the space upstairs. But the talkback after the show had to be cancelled.

Instead of discussing Black femininity in Irish society people were stuck in the foyer of Project Arts Centre fearing to go out on the street. Far right slogans could be heard in the streets of the city centre, buses were on fire, groups of rioting, violent white men took over the streets. All of this was inspired by a far right sentiment fuelled by rumours and random outbursts of hate and rage. People felt far from safe, especially those who were not male – and white. In this talkback we want to give space for everyone to discuss how to stay safe and keep the streets safe in the current political climate.

How can we ensure that the streets don’t belong only to some parts of society while excluding a lot of others?”

Talkback Host:

Esosa Ighodaro – Esosa Ighodaro is a British/Nigerian/Irish writer/director, vocalist and actor. She makes work  for stage and screen. Her work aims to highlight black talent and tell more varied stories of the  black experiences in Ireland, using humour to explore more serious themes. Her farce, DOWN WITH JAZZ received Arts Council Agility Award funding in 2021, and  Theatre Project Award funding in 2022. And in 2023, a Screen Ireland Spotlight Stage to  Screen award with which she will be adapting the play for the screen. Her play, LET ME IN,  was developed through Smock Alley’s Rachel Baptiste programme in 2022. It is currently  being developed with The Everyman Theatre, Cork. 

Joy Nesbitt – Joy Nesbitt is a director, writer, and musician originally from Dallas, Texas. Joy is inspired by stories of Black Femininity and postcolonial imagination. In 2022, Joy attended the Theatre Directing MFA at The Lir National Academy of Dramatic Arts. She is a 2021 recipient of the Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts for the sum of her artistic activities at Harvard University. Joy is currently a 2023 Director SEED for Rough Magic Theatre Company and a member of the 2023 Rachel Baptiste Programme at Smock Alley Theatre.