Not Black and White: Category B; Seize the Day; Detaining Justice

Description

Not Black and White comprises of three new plays which examine the state of modern day Britain from the perspective of three leading black contemporary playwrights. Roy Williams, Kwame Kwei-Armah and Bola Agbaje tackle the prison system, the mayoralty and immigration in their respective plays. Category B: Roy Williams Saul runs a tip-top wing - the screws love him for it, especially Angela. Prisoners follow his rules, and it's all gravy. But Saul's number two position is vacant, new inmates are flooding in, so everyone's feeling the heat. No-one wants to go to Cat B, but the world on the outside is a different story. Seize the Day: Kwame Kwei-Armah Jeremy Charles could be London's first black mayor. He has the face to represent it - a well-spoken, good-looking Londoner, with an appetite for change. He's sold his pitch on reality TV, but can he be the real people's candidate? Detaining Justice: Bola Agbaje Justice is locked in a cold dark cell, his asylum application pending. His sister Grace would like to help, but has been told to leave it in God's hands. Crown Prosecutor Mark Cole has an infallible reputation for successful prosecutions - however he has had a change of heart - and job. His first case is for the defence of Justice - but, in his new role, is Cole the man to help? Published to coincide with the Not Black and White season at the Tricycle, where the three dramas played in rep Oct 8 -Dec 19 2009.

Roy Williams is one of the most prolific playwrights of his generation whose recent work includes Days of Significance, The Gift, Clubland and Slow Time. Kwame Kwei-Armah play Elmina's Kitchen won him the 2004 Evening Standard and Charles Wintor Awards for Most Promising Playwright. His subsequent plays for the NT were Fix Up and Statement of Regret. Bola Agbaje's first play, Gone Too Far! (2007), won an Olivier Award for Outstanding achievement and Most Promising Playwright nomination at the Evening Standard Awards 2008.

'Kwame Kwei-Armah is a playwright who engages with the politics of race in a combative but thoughtful style...' 'pacy, funny and intelligent' * Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard, 3.11.09 * 'Kwei-Armah's proven gift for dialogue and dramatic confrontation ... ensures that this rare black middle-class comedy hits home.' * Michael Coveney, Independent, 4.11.09 * [It displays] 'a readiness to grapple with a real issue: the problems that will face any British Obama on aspiring to high office.' 'it goes down a storm with its audience and raises a host of issues' * Michael Billington, Guardian, 3.11.09 * 'plenty of wit and intelligence' * Dominic Maxwell, The Times, 3.11.09 * 'This brisk and passionate play is the best thing he's written yet.' * Lloyd Evans, Spectator, 14.11.09 * 'a remarkable collaboration between three of Britain's finest black playwrights' * Euan Ferguson, The Observer, 18.10.09 * 'compelling...sharp-edged clarity...satisfying narrative punch' * Michael Coveney, The Independent, 4.11.2009 *