Theatre needs risk-takers like Kwame Kwei-Armah whose Young Vic has been dynamite
Arifa Akbar
Kwame Kwei-Armah steps down from Young Vic and calls for ‘government intervention’ for theatres
July 2023
Patrick Marber to direct Nachtland, a play about Hitler’s art and ‘rise of the new right’
Satire by German playwright Marius von Mayenburg will open next year at the Young Vic in London which will also revive Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming
Beneatha’s Place review – the future of Black America and the shadows of colonialism
Kwame Kwei-Armah’s play takes a character from Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun on a journey to Africa
‘I want to take the audience further than they’d like’: Kwame Kwei-Armah on Beneatha’s Place
Continuing the story of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the writer and director aims to create change with a reflection on today’s culture wars about race
February 2023
‘Once in a lifetime’: Ruth Wilson to star in 24-hour show The Second Woman at Young Vic
Wilson to enact single, seven-minute scene on loop with 100 men to explore gender roles
August 2022
Warhol and Basquiat to be reborn on screen in movie of hit Young Vic play
Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope star in The Collaboration, which shows the artists in 1980s New York
May 2022
‘This is a generational moment’: civil rights group for black Britons launches
Black Equity Organisation, whose trustees include David Lammy and Dame Vivian Hunt, aims to dismantle systemic racism in UK
April 2022
Premiere of Mandela musical to be flagship for Young Vic in 2022
Theatre’s chief hopes production gives younger people understanding of the price paid by radicals in the past
February 2022
The Collaboration review – Warhol and Basquiat mix paint and trade blows
Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope excel as the art world legends in Anthony McCarten’s account of a fractious friendship
January 2022
It’s a World Cup opera … starring 100 fans who already know the score
Breaking (aka 892) review – John Boyega holds together by-the-book hostage drama
November 2021
Basquiat and Warhol’s ‘intimate friendship’ explored in Young Vic drama
Jeremy Pope and Paul Bettany play the art legends in The Collaboration staged by artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah
August 2021
Changing Destiny review – Ben Okri’s sketchy foray into ancient Egypt
Kwame Kwei-Armah’s adaptation of a 4,000-year-old Egyptian poem is ambitious and visually stunning, but Ben Okri’s script is too broadbrush
July 2021
Spike Lee: Lord of misrule set to shake up Cannes Film Festival
The inspirational ‘godfather of black movie making’ will bring a much-needed mix of controversy and fun as the festival returns to the Croisette
May 2021
Young Vic to livestream all future productions, says artistic director
Kwame Kwei-Armah says theatre can never go back to being something that can only be experienced by physically being there
April 2021
‘The heat is on’: top theatres act to root out ‘system failure’ of racism
The Young Vic and Royal Court are rethinking their work practices to unpick centuries of ingrained attitudes – and achieve ‘the miracle of equality’
February 2021
Observer New Review Q&A
David Harewood: 'I felt that they wanted me to go on TV, talk, and cry. I was a news item’
The British actor on his new documentary about Covid and people of colour, his breakdown aged 23, and having days left to finish his memoir
January 2021
A midsummer night's sax comedy: the return of the lost Shakespeare jazz musical
It had the hottest musicians, the coolest singers – and Louis Armstrong playing Bottom. But Swingin’ the Dream was a $2m flop. Can the RSC breathe new life into this big band take on the bard?
November 2020
Standing ovation: Spike Lee to direct musical about Viagra
The director’s next project after Da 5 Bloods is based on a 2018 Esquire article and will be co-written by Kwame Kwei-Armah
