A defiant and exuberant coming-of-age story full of humour and humanity.
We Need New Names is a stage adaptation of the Booker Prize-nominated novel by NoViolet Bulawayo, who recently became the first Black African woman to appear on the Booker list twice after her second novel, Glory, was also nominated in 2022. The coming-of-age story which starts in Zimbabwe and travels to America has been adapted by Mufaro Makubika and directed by Monique Touko, and is presented by Fifth Word and New Perspectives, known for their award-winning adaption of Chigozie Obioma’s The Fishermen.
It follows the path of a girl dreaming of wonders away from her home country, only to find herself in a hinterland between where she was from and where she now is, belonging to and claimed by neither. Paradise. Home of 10-year-old Darling and her friends: four children on the edge of innocence. A playground overflowing with mischief and games where they imagine countries a luxurious life away from theirs in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe. But when Darling moves to Michigan, the western world she encounters as a teenager is far from the American utopia of her dreams…
Running Time: 1hr 50 mins | Suitable for ages 14+
Cast:
Lukwesa Mwamba (as Darling), Munashe Chirisa, Anashe Danai, Kalungi Ssebandeke
Listings information:
28 Apr – 6 May Brixton House, London
9 – 10 May The North Wall, Oxford
12 – 13 May Derby Theatre
17 – 20 May HOME, Manchester
23 – 25 May Northern Stage, Newcastle
27 May Key Theatre, Peterborough
30 May – 3 June Bristol Old Vic
5 – 6 June The Crucible, Sheffield
9 – 10 June Nottingham Playhouse
Further Information: We Need New Names – Fifth Word