For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy announces West End transfer

For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy is to transfer to the West End.

Ryan Calais Cameron’s production, inspired by Ntozake Shange’s seminal work For Coloured Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf, will run at the Apollo Theatre from 25 March – 7 May 2023.

The show transfers from the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Downstairs where it was on last spring, having originally opened at the New Diorama Theatre in association with Nouveau Riche.

The original cast return to make their West End debuts: Mark Akintimehin, Emmanuel Akwafo, Nnabiko Ejimofor, Darragh Hand, Aruna Jalloh and Kaine Lawrence.

Inspired by Ntozake Shange’s seminal work For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf. For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy is located on the threshold of joyful fantasy and brutal reality: a world of music, movement, storytelling and verse – where six men clash and connect in a desperate bid for survival.

Father figures and fashion tips. Lost loves and jollof rice. African empires and illicit sex. Good days and bad days. Six young Black men meet for group therapy, and let their hearts – and imaginations – run wild.

The play was originally conceived by Ryan Calais Cameron in the wake of the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2013 and has been developed over the course of the last decade with young black men and mental health groups.

Ryan Calais Cameron, playwright and Nouveau Riche Artistic Director, said: “A West End transfer of For Black Boys, will be a momentous occasion for my community and those who have taken the show into their hearts.

“We really hope this show will drastically change the commercial theatre landscape by ensuring theatre is for everyone and reflects our society; we could not have gotten this far without the immense support of our advocates and audiences.”

The creative team features set and costume design by Anna Reid, lighting design by Rory Beaton, Additional Music and sound design by Nicola T Chang, movement direction by Theophilus O. Bailey and musical direction by John Pfumojena. Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu directed the show’s original run at New Diorama Theatre.

For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy was originally commissioned by New Diorama Theatre, co-commissioned by Boundless Theatre. The West End production is presented by the Royal Court Theatre, Nica Burns, New Diorama Theatre and Nouveau Riche.

Tickets go on sale on Friday, 20 January.