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Streetwise

By Benjamin Zephaniah

Year staged: 1990

Opening night: 10/10/1990

Theatre Company: Temba Theatre Company; 1972

Staged in: Watermans Art Centre

Cast Size: 4

Synopsis

When protagonist Streetwise is the victim of a racist hate crime on the eve of carnival, his friends find themselves torn between violent retribution and diplomatic resolution. Following the play’s core quartet as they reckon with the aftermath of the crime, Zephaniah’s electric rhyming text is a complex yet uplifting exploration of solidarity.

Original Cast

Ewen Cummins

Streetwise

Kwame Kwei-Armah

Angel

Marianne Jean-Baptiste

Valerie

Sharon Henry

Bingy

Production Team

Alby James

Director

Additional Materials

Unpublished Playscript

Ref: BBPA/4/30

National Theatre

Link to Press Cuttings

Press Cuttings

Ref: THM/77/1/22

V&A Theatre and Performance Collection

Link to Photographs

Photographs

Ref: THM/77/6/22

V&A Theatre and Performance Collection

Poster

Ref: BCA/Ephemera/374

Black Cultural Archives

Link to Playscript

Playscript

Ref: MPS 4995

British Library

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