The Ryan Calais Cameron Season in association with the Broadway Theatre, Catford
The programme will provide vital resources including dramaturgical support, financial backing, development space and mentorship to three early-career Black and Global Majority writers based in the borough of Lewisham. Justice Ezi, Demi Wilson-Smith and Kaleb D’Aguilar’s (pictured above) respective plays — Last Goal Wins, Cranes and How to Keep Warm in Winter — will be progressed from early-stage scripts into fully realised productions with 12 performances each in the Broadway Theatre’s Studio. A complete pipeline, from development to staged production.
Ryan Calais Cameron says: “Growing up in Lewisham, the Broadway Theatre was the place that sparked my creative imagination. To establish this season is a dream come true, but more importantly, it’s a structural necessity. The new writing sector is facing a massive crisis, and we risk losing an entire generation of vital Global Majority working-class voices if we don’t build doors for them to walk through.
“Justice, Demi, and Kaleb are phenomenal talents. What makes their plays so unique is how fiercely they capture universal truths, culture, and deep personal resilience. I’m incredibly proud to provide the resources and mentorship they deserve, and I can’t wait to champion their work as it takes centre stage in Catford.”
The final play of the trio is How To Keep Warm in Winterby Kaleb D’Aguilar (until 25 October): A Caribbean love story set against the adversity of 1970s London. Following Jamaican newlyweds navigating racism and economic hardship, exploring themes of migration, race, economic crisis and family. Kaleb’s writing debut receives its first-ever staging after being long-listed for the prestigious Alfred Fagon Award.
1973. London is on the verge of a terribly cold winter with Prime Minister Edward Heath’s announcement of a Three-Day week. Just arrived from Jamaica, Irene joins her childhood sweetheart Everton in London, sharing a tiny room in a house in Peckham, as the two try to adjust to their new life together and navigate a racist new country, unwelcoming to the growing Caribbean population. Socio-political changes in the UK and the fuel crisis exposes the differences between them, and a blossoming new friendship with their landlord David threatens the likelihood of our young couple’s marriage to last through winter.
Broadway Theatre’s Principal Producer Carmel O’Connor says: “New writing cannot survive without venues taking risks and a leap of faith. At Broadway Theatre, we are committed to funding and producing new work at scale in a meaningfully way that supports underrepresented writers and gives a voice to untold stories. We are incredibly proud to partner with Ryan, one of our country’s most exciting playwrights on his landmark season which delivers on this promise – bringing powerful and very personal ‘page to stage’ narratives to life through fully realised productions in our Studio theatre.”
“These three plays deserve to be seen by audiences. At a time when others are stepping back, Broadway Theatre is pushing forward and demonstrating what is possible when a venue invests in and commits to their long-term development.”
Image above: (c) Maddy Cavaliero-Knox
https://www.broadwaytheatre.org.uk/the-ryan-calais-cameron-season
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