AWARD-WINNING authors Alex Wheatle, Yvvette Edwards and Irenosen Okojie explore the publishing industry’s ‘diversity’ record by centring the narratives of writers of colour in The Green Room, an original play to be live streamed from Theatre Peckham next month.
Sometimes we have to find a way to fund it ourselves and/or create partnerships, like we have done with Words of Colour and Theatre Peckham with support from UCL. It’s the Garveyite in me
Alex Wheatle, The Green Room’s Producer
The Green Room is a comedy-drama about six authors, at different stages of their careers, who have been nominated for a diversity in literature award. As they wait in the green room for the awards ceremony to start, the authors’ egos, secrets and disappointments are gradually revealed.
Alaugh-out-loud romp, directed by award-winning Theatre Director Roy Alexander Weise (Nine Night), The Green Room is a timely and clear-eyed exploration of the publishing industry, and the obstacles new and established writers of colour in Britain face while trying to carve out a career.
Alex Wheatle, Author (Crongton Knights series, Cane Warriors) and The Green Room’s Producer, said: “I wanted to be involved as a producer on The Green Room because we can’t keep relying on, and screaming at, funding bodies to put our narratives on stage.
“Sometimes we have to find a way to fund it ourselves and/or create partnerships, like we have done with Words of Colour and Theatre Peckham with support from UCL. It’s the Garveyite in me. I’m also involved because the play is funny as hell.
“The Green Room is also a reminder for publishers and writers of all backgrounds of what black creatives have to navigate in their chosen careers.”
The play’s announcement follows Dr Melanie Ramdarshan Bold’s (UCL and University of Glasgow) work on the under-representation of writers of colour in the British publishing industry, and the barriers they face.
It also comes on the eve of the first anniversary of Rethinking ‘Diversity’ in Publishing, the first in-depth study in the UK on diversity in trade fiction which found that publishers still see writers of colour as a ‘commercial risk’, and the (unrelated) launch of the Black Writers’ Guild.
Yvvette Edwards, Author (A Cupboard Full of Coats, The Mother) and The Green Room’s Co-Writer, said: “Though everything of importance around the lack of diversity in the publishing industry has been methodically proven by statistics, black authors were still being invited to literary festivals to take part in ‘diversity’ panels. Wearily they discussed the issue instead of promoting their work, as if the resolution rested with them and not with the industry itself.
“After many of these panels, I’ve had some very funny discussions with other panel authors, full of dark humour used primarily, I think, as a coping strategy against the trauma of having to constantly relive all the mechanisms that obstruct our access to fair and equal inclusion and progress. The Green Room captures some of these affirming conversations, which is why we found writing the play hilarious.”
Irenosen Okojie, Author (Butterfly Fish, Nudibranch) and Co-Writer of The Green Room, said: “Diversity is such an important theme, and is an issue that has affected me, Yvvette and Alex.
“We each had different battles getting published. Now that we find ourselves in the position of being published writers, we have a platform, and we want to use that platform to affect change. We are all community-oriented writers. We all care about the industry.
“We all care about pathways for other writers of colour. We chose comedy to tell the story because we want to impact people in ways that are subtle and pertinent, while leaving them with something to think about.”
Suzann McLean, Artistic Director/CEO, Theatre Peckham, said: “The Green Room is a clever comedy with a twist. It is full of recognisable characters, and there is a warmth that I feel the audience is going to love.
Behind all the fun is a deep message about the multiplicity of diverse writers, the exciting range of voices that we have in the UK and the richness that this intersectionality brings to the literary world.”
Joy Francis, Co-Producer and Executive Director, Words of Colour Productions, added: “We are excited to be collaborating on, and co-producing, this very funny, timely and thought-provoking play.
“After numerous studies which have provided the publishing industry with road maps to transform their poor progress on diversity, it’s time to step up and make our stories visible.
“It is essential to be entrepreneurial and create cross sector collaborations to show writers and readers of colour that they matter, and to let the next generation of writers know they have a future in literature and the arts.”
The Green Room will be a script in hand staged performance, hosted as a fundraiser for Theatre Peckham in response to the economic impact of Covid-19 and the lockdowns.
The performance will also serve as a showcase, with the goal of securing a commissioned staged touring production in 2022.
Roy Alexander Weise, Joint Artistic Director of the Royal Exchange Theatre and The Green Room‘s Director, said: “Theatre Peckham’s extraordinary work with young people is, and will continue to be, instrumental to the change and development that is so needed within the creative industries.
“Access for young people to theatre, arts and culture can play a huge part in solving representation and visibility barriers, but ultimately allow young people the chance to explore how they can take up space and play a part in society – now and in the future.
“I am very proud to donate my time to this important organisation and have fun working with a great team on this hilarious script.”
Comments Form