Who We Are

Talawa’s mission statement:

Talawa is the UK’s primary Black led touring theatre company. Our work is informed by the wealth and diversity of the Black British experience, and through that we create outstanding work by cultivating the best in emerging and established Black artists. We invest in talent, develop audiences and inspire dialogue with and within communities across the UK and internationally. By doing so we enrich the cultural life of all.

As Talawa looks to the future there are opportunities for growth and development. We believe that the only way for Talawa to ensure its future is to expand, pushing the boundaries of what Black theatre is and what it can be.

Alongside Talawa’s office there is a rehearsal studio, Talawa Studios, which is currently used for rehearsals, rehearsed readings and occasionally hired to other organisations providing a small income stream. Our ambition is to transform Talawa Studios into a small, fully resourced performance space for BAME artists to present their work to a professional standard. Giving high production values to all of our publicly presented work will help change the perception of what Black theatre is. Having the means to present work by and with emerging BAME artists on our own terms is central to our future growth and our mission to develop BAME talent.

In addition, Talawa are starting to make tentative links internationally, as well as touring extensively across the UK. Extending the reach of our work remains one of our key objectives for the next period in our development.

Talawa’s vision for the future is:

• To create the physical and ideological space in which a canon of Black British work can be created, seen and shared;
• to provide the partnerships and stages, nationally and internationally, on which the work will flourish;
• to create a dialogue that widens the breadth of voices heard;
• engage and collaborate with communities;
• to develop the full range of practitioners to give the work its best expression and to do so as an integral part of the of the UK’s theatre ecology.