Syncopated

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 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 diected by Tian Glasgow tells the story of a chance meeting between a young musician Joseph Munroe-Robinson (Return to the Forbidden Planet, Greenwich Theatre) and an inquisitive Scouser played by Teddy Oyediran (Slave: A Question of Freedom, Riverside Studios). 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.

Joining the talented creative team is set and costume designer Keshi Raghu (WTF is Shakespeare, The Unity); sound designer Danni Skeritt; lighting designer Stella Okafor-Ross and movement director Yandass (Founder and Artistic Director of I M Pact collective).

Michael Buffong, Talawa’s Artistic Director 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. 

This world premiere offers music and storytelling as redemptive, healing and a connecting bridge across generations.

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