The Tricycle theatre has assembled a 13-strong cast, blending venue newcomers with returning actors, to perform all three of the shows in the Not Black And White season.
Jimmy Akingbola, Aml Ameen, John Boyega , Karl Collins, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Abhin Galeya, Jaye Griffiths, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Simone James, Amelia Lowdell, Cecilia Noble, Rebecca Scroggs and Robert Whitelock will star in the trio of plays focusing on the state of Britain as the first decade of the 21st century comes to an end.
Akingbola, who has previously worked for the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company and Donmar Warehouse, and appeared as a visceral Othello in Frantic Assembly’s 2008 production, is among the performers making his Tricycle theatre debut as part of the season.
Ameen, whose screen credits include Gunrush, Fallout and the film Kidulthood, also makes his first trip to the Tricycle, as do Boyega, James, Lowdell, Scroggs and RSC regular Whitelock.
Collins, Duncan-Brewster and Holdbrook-Smith previously worked together on the Tricycle’s production of Fabulation, in addition to working separately on a number of other plays at the Kilburn venue.
Galeya, who was recently seen in The Container at the Young Vic, starred in Best Of Motives at the Tricycle, while Griffiths appeared in the theatre’s Mr Knightley and Ugly Rumours, and Noble’s credits include Pecong, The Piano Lesson and Playboy Of The West Indies.
The Not Black And White season, which runs from October until December, features new plays by Roy Williams, Kwame Kwei-Armah and Bola Agbaje which explore one aspect of 21st century London. Williams’s Category B focuses on the prison system, Kwei-Armah’s Seize The Day tackles the mayoralty and Agbaje’s Detaining Justice examines immigration. While the plays openings will be staggered during October and November, all three productions will run in repertoire.
MA