Education Resource Packs

New resource packs for GCSE set text Noughts and Crosses (2007) and the National Theatre’s production of Nine Night (2018) are available now.

Additional resource packs for Winsome Pinnock’s Leave Taking (1987), Chinonyerem Odimba’s Princess and the Hustler (2019), Bola Agbaje’s Gone Too Far! (2007), Errol John’s Moon on a Rainbow Shawl (1958), Charlene James’ Cuttin’ It (2016), Inua Ellams’ adaptation of Three Sisters (2019), and Jasmine Lee-Jones’ play seven methods of killing kylie jenner (2019) are available below.

All resource packs are freely available for educators.

Each resource pack includes information on:

• The play’s original performance
• Historical and cultural context for the plays
• Interviews with the writer or director
• Analyses of characters and themes
• Breakdowns of the play’s structure and scenes
• Exercises for students
• Further reading and useful links

Further plays from the Black Plays Archive are available to watch via the National Theatre Collection, including Michaela Coel’s Chewing Gum Dreams (2014), Inua Ellams’ Barber Shop Chronicles (2017), Winsome Pinnock’s Rockets and Blue Lights (2021) and many more.

The National Theatre Collection is free for UK state primary and secondary schools and FE colleges. For more information, please head to the National Theatre Collection page on the National Theatre website (link opens in a new tab).

Noughts and Crosses charts two young people falling in love in a deeply segregated world.

Callum is a Nought and Sephy is a Cross. In a world where Crosses rule and Noughts are ruled, will Callum and Sephy’s love survive?

Adapted from Malorie Blackman’s award-winning novel, Dominic Cooke’s adaptation of Noughts and Crosses charts a singular love story within a divided nation.

Adapted by writer and director Dominic Cooke, the play was staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2007.

For Key Stages 3 and 4.

Noughts and Crosses Resource Pack (1.0 MB)

Nine Night follows a Jamaican-British family honouring the loss of a loved one over nine consecutive nights.

Gloria is gravely sick. When her time comes, the celebration begins; the traditional Jamaican Nine Night wake.

Natasha Gordon’s debut play is a touching and very funny exploration of the rituals of family.

Nine Night premiered at the National Theatre in 2018, directed by Roy Alexander Weise.

For Key Stages 4 and 5.

Nine Night Resource Pack (2.0 MB)

Leave Taking is an epic story about what we leave behind in order to find home.

When mother Enid takes daughters Del and Viv to a local obeah woman for some Caribbean soul-healing, secrets are spilled.

Written by playwright Winsome Pinnock in 1987, the play was staged at the National Theatre in 1994.

For Key Stages 4 and 5.

Leave Taking Resource Pack (1.3 MB)

Princess & The Hustler follows Princess, a ten-year-old girl with dreams of winning the Weston-super-Mare Beauty Contest.

In 1963 Bristol, as Black British Civil Rights campaigners walk onto the streets, Princess finds out what it really means to be black and beautiful.

Written by playwright Chinonyerem Odimba, the play was staged at Bristol Old Vic Theatre in 2019.

For Key Stages 4 and 5.

Princess and the Hustler Resource Pack (1.2 MB)

Gone Too Far! follows clashing cultures on a multicultural London estate.

When London born Yemi bristles against his recently arrived Nigerian brother, Ikudayisi, trouble abounds when standing out from the crowd isn’t encouraged.

Written by playwright Bola Agbaje, the play was staged at the Royal Court Theatre in 2007.

For Key Stages 4 and 5.

Gone Too Far! Resource Pack (1 MB)

Moon on a Rainbow Shawl follows down on their luck Trinidadians looking for a brighter future.

Sharing a derelict tenement yard, neighbours hope for success in their personal and professional lives, but such hope comes at a cost.

Written by playwright Errol John, the play was staged at the Royal Court Theatre in 1958.

For Key Stages 4 and 5.

Moon on a Rainbow Shawl Resource Pack (1.3 MB)

National Theatre Collection Learning Guide (6.3 MB)

Cuttin’ It is a play about the heart-wrenching connection between two London school girls from Somalia.

The past and present collide in a tale centred around friendship and the harrowing impact of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Britain.

The play was written by activist, actor and playwright Charlene James in 2016.

For Key Stages 4 and 5.

Cuttin’ It Resource Pack (1 MB)

Anton Chekhov’s original Three Sisters is set in 19th Russia during a time of upheaval. Inua Ellams’ adaptation is set in Nigeria in the 1960s, a country struggling with the legacy of colonialism.

Independence brings the possibility of change but white Europeans are still in the background, pulling strings and reaping the benefits – nothing has changed.

For Key Stages 4 and 5.

Three Sisters Resource Pack (1 MB)

National Theatre Collection Learning Guide (1 MB)

Jasmine Lee-Jones‘ play seven methods of killing kylie jenner (styled in lower-case) is set in the real world and online.

The play follows two young Black women navigating race, colourism, misogyny, power, and privilege after a Twitter thread goes viral online.

This resource pack was made by Maylene Catchpole and the Open Court Programme at the Royal Court Theatre. The resource is hosted on the Black Plays Archive with permission of the parties involved in its creation.

For Key Stages 4 and 5.

seven methods of killing kylie jenner Resource Pack (7.01 MB)