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A Statement from the King's Head Theatre June 2020


We are seeing a global explosion of anger at systemic racism, triggered by the brutal murder of George Floyd. The King's Head Theatre has always fostered diversity and inclusion, and now, more than ever, we stand with the Black Lives Matter movement. 

The King’s Head Theatre must be a home for everyone to feel welcome to tell their stories and for us collectively, to change our world for the better. To all our artists, audiences, staff and community across the world, know that we will not tolerate racism in any form. We will reflect that in everything we do. And while our doors may currently be shut, we commit anew to reflecting and protecting our exceptional and diverse society. 

Today and always, we stand with our Black colleagues and with our community as we fight for a more equal world. 

Next Steps

We recognise that we need to do more, for our artists, our creatives, our staff, our audiences and for the wider community. As a starting point, we would welcome hearing from you if you would like to join in the conversation of how we can do better. You’ll find an online KHT Comment Box form here that we invite you to fill in, anonymously if you’d prefer.

Resources

Some resources and things we found helpful: 

Reading:

debbie tucker green’s ear for eye - currently available free on the Royal Court’s website

Marsha P Johnson's obituary in the New York Times

Lemn Sissay’s work

Dr Ibram X Kendi on why not being racist is not enough

K. Augustine Tanner-Ihm on how social distancing is a race issue

Ngūgī wa Thiong’o’s essay Enactments of Power: The Politics of the Performance Space

Books

Me and White Supremacy - Layla F. Saad

How to be an Antiracist - Dr Ibram X. Kendi

So You Want to Talk About Race - Ijeoma Oluo

Don’t Touch My Hair - Emma Dabiri

Notes of a Native Son - James Baldwin

Africa’s Tarnished Name - China Achebe

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race - Reni Eddo-Lodge

Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 

Things Fall Apart - China Achebe

A Portable Paradise - Roger Robinson

Plays:

Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu has pulled together a list of plays from and about Black and Brown people that GCSE level children and above can relate to

Listen to:

Ayozie Pollendine’s Let’s Talk about Racism episode on Inside My Wardrobe

George the Poet’s podcast

Layla F. Saad’s podcast

Intersectionality Matters with Kimberlé Crenshaw podcast

Watch:

Dear White People about Black students navigating various forms of discrimination and micro-aggressions at an Ivy League college

Strong Island about the death of filmmaker Yance Ford’s brother

When They See Us about the 1989 arrest of the ‘Central Park Five’

Vanessa Kisuule’s poetry

Some organisations that you can support financially:

Black Minds Matter UK

Runnymede Trust

Show Racism the Red Card

Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust

Stand Against Racism and Inequality (SARI)

Black Lives Matter UK

Fringe of Colour

Museum of Colour

Black Ticket Project

We also found Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein’s anti-racism resources helpful