World premiere of Syncopated uses displaced jazz rhythms to mirror disrupted lives, relationships and historical narratives.
Part of Talawa’s Black Joy season, Syncopated, a co-commission with Liverpool Playhouse and Talawa Theatre Company, is a moving two-hander offering a soul-stirring tale of music, memory and the ghosts history forgets. Using live music, award-winning writer Varaidzo (Bus Stop, The Guardian and 4th Estate 2018 4th Write Prize shortlist; The Good Immigrant; Manny and the Baby, The Jhalak Prose Prize shortlist) explores the weight of history, the struggle to follow your dreams and the power of performance to uncover the truth.
The production will open in Liverpool (Liverpool Playhouse Studio 23 Sept - 4 Oct) and then move on to Talawa’s studio theatre at Fairfield Halls in Croydon (8 Oct - 18 Oct).
Set on the docks of Liverpool, Syncopated tells the story of a chance meeting between a young musician (Him) and an inquisitive Scouser (Her). As the night deepens, the two conjure a story from history - the journey of The Southern Syncopated Orchestra, a real-life African American band who brought the jazz rhythms of New Orleans to post-WWI Britain. Syncopated resurrects the lives of two imagined members of this historic ensemble watching their romance unfold against the turbulence of 1919 with race riots and rising fascism. They see music as an escape and refuge. This play-within-a-play becomes a metaphorical and emotional journey using dialogue, letters and music as Him and Her rediscover purpose and try to reclaim their creative voices.
Michael Buffong, Talawa’s Artistic Director also comments, Talawa's Black Joy season has been one of the most ambitious and successful endeavours in our nearly 40-year history. Bringing the season to a close with the highly anticipated studio show Syncopated is a full circle moment, nurturing new work rooted in Liverpool’s musical culture and history. It is an honour to have the opportunity to collaborate with Varaidzo and the team at Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse to do what we do best: shine a light on the prodigious talents of Black and global majority creatives.
This world premiere offers music and storytelling as redemptive, healing and a connecting bridge across generations.