THROUGH THE familial relationship between brother and sister Aurora and Orion, Black Love tackles how lives are interrupted or disrupted by racism and what black love is, and can be.
The love at the centre of this story is interrupted and disrupted in a way that I think audiences will recognise
Chinonyerem Odimba
Written by Chinonyerem Odimba with music by Ben and Max Ringham, Black Love is a new musical exploring real life stories, soul music and ancestral voices.
Odimba’s first work at tiata fahodzi since joining the company as Artistic Director in 2021, Black Love centres on siblings who look after each other in their small London flat which is filled with memories of their parents.
When Aurora falls in love, the special relationship with her brother is threatened. Through songs inspired by Rhythm and Blues heritage, the siblings navigate their relationship and confront their fears.
After writing her first musical for a Christmas family show, writer Chinonyerem Odimba wanted to explore what kind of themes, worlds, and stories could be held by the musical form, exploring writing lyrics with more depth and layers. With collaborators Katie Posner (co-artistic director at Paines Plough) and composers Ben and Max Ringham, Odimba was able to create her musical storytelling that ‘speaks to the story and to the form of the work’.
Odimba, who has grown up on Bollywood films that her parents watched, doesn’t play by all the traditional rules of ‘musicals’. Working with Ben Ringham she has created hard hitting lyrics that are crafted into the familiarity of a catchy musical tune. Using the musical structure as a device, another character has been created that the audience hear, but do not see on stage.
To bring authentic truths to the story, Odimba messaged her connections to ask them directly ‘what is black love’. These lived experiences and definitions of black love add a layer of truth Odimba wanted in the piece.
The design is minimalist, centering on the home of the siblings, featuring a record player centre stage that references the happier times in Aurora and Orion’s relationship.
Odimba said: “I think for a long time we have agreed that slavery and colonialism disrupted African history rather than it ‘being’ African history.
“And in this same way, I think what the play is trying to tackle are the ways in which Whiteness disrupts and interrupts Black Love and ideas of what Blackness is.
“The love at the centre of this story is interrupted and disrupted in a way that I think audiences will recognise, but also it is much more about the things that help us to heal from that.
“I wanted to write something that would centre a Black family, as this felt like something we rarely see in the public sphere or even in our depictions of family.
“Black Love is really what it says, it is the expression of love that exists in families, siblings, friends, lovers and more. I have been very lucky to find the kind of collaboration and synergy working with my creative team that gives this piece its depth and form.”
Black Love will be showing around the UK as part of a programme of four shows in rep in the Roundabout season. Roundabout is Paines Plough’s portable pop-up theatre which takes productions around the country.
It began previewing in July as part of Belgrade Theatre’s Coventry UK City of Culture 2021, before the four shows premiere in Brixton, London ahead of a national tour.
The play text for Black Love has been published by Nick Hern Books.
The other artists showing new work in this year’s Roundabout programme are Chris Bush, Phoebe Eclair-Powell and Frankie Meredith.
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