Listen, A Black Woman Is Speaking
23 November 2023
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?”
ACCESSIBILITY
If you require assistance for your visit, please do not hesitate to contact us at access@projectartscentre.ie or call 01 8819 613. You can find the latest information about Project’s accessibility here.
CREDITS
Writer – Marlow Wyatt
Director – Joy Nesbitt
Design – Jess Kane
Actors:
Writer – Tishé Emmanuella Fatunbi
Black Woman 1 – Siobhán Matshazi
Black Woman 2 – Leah Minto
Black Woman 3 – Colleen Keogh
BIOGRAPHIES
Marlow Wyatt is a playwright and actor. She received her BFA (magna cum laude) from Howard University College of Fine Arts. She is a 2022/23 LA New Play Project grant recipient, a 2022 Lower Depth Commission Fellow, 2022 AGE Legacy Grant recipient, Antaeus 2021 NEXT Commission Artist, Support Black Theatre’s 2021 As We Grow We Sow Awardee, 2021 SBT New Works Pipeline Artist, 2016 Long Beach Playhouse New Works winner and a CTG/Humanitas Playwrights Prize finalist. Selected works include: SHE (2023 World Premiere/Antaeus Theatre); Robbin, from the Hood (2024 Road Theatre World Premiere, Eugene O’Neill semi-finalist); Listen, A Black Woman Is Speaking (2023 Common Crow Theatre/Dublin, Ireland, Third Rail Repertory, CoHo Theatre readings, 2022 Plays In Motion Moving Arts workshop); Red Ribbons (2022 Voices for Victory Reading Series, 2021 Headwaters New Play finalist); Bread and Circus (2023 No Noise Reading Series – A Noise Within/Lower Depth Theatre Co. Cycle of Poverty Fellowship) and The Things We Leave Behind (NEXT Commission/Antaeus Theatre Company). For more information visit marlowwyatt.com or follow her on IG @marlowwrites.
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. Joy’s directing credits include The King of All Birds by Martha Knight (2023), endings. by Fionntán Larney (2023), Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (2022), Reflections by Joy Nesbitt and Pedro Pacheco (2022), Reasons to be Pretty by Neil LaBute (2021); R+J: An Ultramodern Fantasia by William Shakespeare (2020); God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza (2020); Dreamgirls by Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen (2020); Mamma Mia (2019); and A Very Potter Musical (2018). She has assisted on productions by Ronan Phelan, Dan Colley and Tom Creed. Joy has also written three full plays: Good (2023), Julius Caesar Variety Show (2022), and Meditations on Somebodiness (2021).
FUNDING
Arts Council Ireland
Project Arts Centre is proudly supported by the Arts Council and Dublin City Council.
DISCLAIMER
Themes of Racism and Racist, Violence, Discussion of Sexual Assault
Discussion hosted by Esosa Ighodaro on “the intricacies of Black femininity and solidarity between the Black Irish Community and the greater African diaspora”
Free (ticketed)
2.30pm
Cube