Yorkshire Theatre Newsletter

Yorkshire Theatre Newsletter

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Yorkshire Theatre Newsletter
Yorkshire Theatre Newsletter
Radical Theatre: A Northern Tradition

Radical Theatre: A Northern Tradition

Political Theatre Now

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Liz Ryan
Oct 07, 2022
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Yorkshire Theatre Newsletter
Yorkshire Theatre Newsletter
Radical Theatre: A Northern Tradition
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Jelani D'Aguilar and Misha Duncan-Barry in My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored. Photo credit: Ant Robling

Red Ladder are touring again. The Leeds-based company is one of the country’s oldest radical theatres. Starting life as an agit-prop outfit in London during the political turmoil of 1968, it has survived by constantly reinventing itself.

Inevitably, in the woke-saturated arts world of the early 2020s, this means they create dramas which explore issues around identity. But, because they are Red Ladder, it’s a cut above. Nana Kofi Kufuor’s script is the story of a black teacher who sees one of her pupils being roughed up by police “outside Marks & Spencer’s” but does nothing to intervene. It tackles head-on the complex interactions between class, race and misogyny at work in British society.

A co-production between Red Ladder, Leeds Playhouse and Oldham Coliseum, it’s stuffed with questions and packs a great deal in. And that’s much better than asking no questions at all. Wesley Cen…

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