Newcastle theatre to host UK Premiere of groundbreaking play on race
A Newcastle-based theatre director says she's ready for her newest production to raise important conversations about race and ally-ship.
Last updated 28th Apr 2022
A Newcastle-based theatre director says she's ready for her newest production to raise important conversations about race and ally-ship.
Natalie Ibu - the artistic director of Northern Stage - is leading the UK premiere of The White Card, based on an American play by Claudia Rankine.
The play poses the question: can society progress when whiteness remains invisible?
Natalie tells us, “The White Card is a courageous and clever debate-play about the privilege of whiteness and the consuming of black trauma as art.
"Choosing to direct it feels like a provocation - to this building, this sector, this place.
"Northern Stage is a place to debate ideas, so I’m delighted that we can introduce an internationally renowned writer to the North East.
"Claudia Rankine is an amazing thinker and writer and, as a Black woman, she has given me a language for my own experiences.
"Although set in America, the play is just as relevant in the UK – a country where a young Black girl can be strip searched at school or a Black man can be stopped and searched
simply for wearing a coat on a sunny day – I think there’s never been a more urgent need for this play and the discussions it will force about race in the UK.”
The team behind the production are also keen to put the play's messages into practice, with elements like the costumes being sourced from Black owned companies.
The play runs at Northern Stage until the 14th of May before going on tour in London, Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham.
It will also be streamed online from the 16th of May to the 16th of July, as part of Northern Stage's commitment to making theatre more accessible.