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Ain’t I a Woman is currently playing at London’s Tower Theatre in a limited run to the 20^th of July. This innovative and much needed production has been created by black women and is inspired by two great foremothers, Sojourner Truth, and bell hooks. It was Sojourner Truth, who in pre-American Civil War era made a famous feminist and black activist speech, “Ain’t I a Woman,” which helped to propel the women’s movement and the armed conflict that helped to end slavery in the United States. More than 100 years later, the Black American educator and writer bell hooks named her influential book which dealt with the intersectionality of capitalism, gender, and race “Ain’t I a Woman.” These are the profound roots of this important anthology of five plays.

Act One consist of three short comedies, all of which make important points about the lives of young black women. It is a clever and respectful way of bringing an audience into the over-arching theme of the evening, which is to examine the intersectionality of Black women’s lives in contemporary London.

Changing Rays, written by Mauricia Lewis is a disturbing look at an imagined future for the beauty industry.   It’s a dystopian tale in which customers are given the opportunity to have their ethnicity erased by a cosmetic procedure, one which will leave participants white and no longer the target of unwanted racist comments. The hapless student Ngozi, played winningly by Anoä-Kanelle Calpas, lists all the reasons why she wants the procedure before ultimately making her final decision.  Although the piece is a comic satire, it offers a very singular—and thoughtful–view of what it means to be beautiful.

Nikki takes a Breath, written by Sara Amanda is a hilarious look at two black women engaging in an audition for an ill-judged “ethnic” production of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.  We watch as a director makes increasingly ridiculous demands of the two who try their very best to meet them. Painfully funny, it highlights how even now in the 21^st century black actors are still viewed in very limited ways.

The equally funny In Conversation written by Eileen Gbagbo looks at a television encounter between a condescending white presenter Lauren Morris, a woman who lobs micro-aggressions with the skill of a trained assassin, winningly played by Louise Paton, and Zainab Ottun’s increasingly exasperated black financial expert Tiwa Sowunmi-Smith. A confrontation takes place when Sowunmi-Smith rightly refuses to continue with the interview until Morris correctly pronounces her name, which the presenter is hell-bent on not doing. Watching this battle of wills is hilarious, while also illustrating an important point: black women in the media have an even more difficult time fending off the racism they face since they must do it while the public is watching.

The second act of Ain’t I a Women consists of two longer dramas. Fittingly, they present the culmination of the evening.

2037: The Burden, written by Rukiat Ashawe, looks at a future where biological warfare has been employed to wipe out half the world’s population. A young resistance leader, Fin, played by Kahlea Allison, has a choice to make which will not only affect her life but perhaps all of humanity.

Mary, Queen of Thots, written by television writer Katrina Smith-Jackson and starring Megan Madaleine Freeman, looks at the life of a black zillennial struggling with depression, toxic relationships, and a desperate search for love, which plunges her into an ill-judged dive into dating app hell.Both pieces are very well written and hint at much larger works and the performances by actresses Kahlea Allison and Megan Madaleine Freeman are uniformly excellent. They suggest bigger careers for them both in the future.The lovely singers Chaachi Deane and Anoä-Kanelle Calpas accompanied by composer Isabelle Ajani act as a kind of musical Greek chorus throughout the plays. Wonderfully musical and theatrical, they comment on events while also reminding audiences of the show’s important message.

“Ain’t I a Woman” is directed with sensitivity and insight throughout by Lande Belo, Sara Amanda and Beverly Andrews and is produced by Belo.With our world currently at such a disturbing junction, “Ain’t I a Woman” highlights the fact that if we wish to live in healthy societies, it’s crucial that we hear everyone’s voice.Ain’t I a Woman runs until the 20^th at the Tower Theatre.Tickets can be booked on the link below.

Ain’t I A Woman? – The Tower Theatre