Beneatha's Place

Beneatha’s Place

by Kwame Kwei-Armah Directed by Denzel Westley-Sanderson Choreography by Tinovimbanashe Sibanda Set and Costume Design by Nicolai Hart-Hansen Lighting Design by Seb Blaber Sound Design by Beth Duke Perfomed by Mountview’s Third Year Undergraduate Acting students Technical Roles by Mountview’s Second, Third Year & Diploma Theatre Production Arts students

7-10 April 2021 Backstage Theatre

Photo by RULER

ABOUT MOUNTVIEW Excellence, Access and Innovation in dramatic training are at the heart of our work. Since 1945, we have trained the very best performers, directors, theatre production artists and producers. We are committed to ensuring our community of over 500 students is representative and that drama training is accessible to all.

Opened in 2018, our home in Peckham was conceived in partnership with Southwark Council as a truly 21st-century drama school and a creative arts hub for all. Our state-of-the-art facilities include the 200-seat Mountview Theatre (made possible by a £1m donation from Sir Cameron Mackintosh), the 80-seat Backstage Theatre, 21 acting/dance studios, TV and radio suites and production workshops. In recognition of their extraordinary work in establishing Mountview’s new home and for their commitment to promoting inclusivity, Joint Chief Executives Stephen Jameson and Sarah Preece were presented with Olivier Awards in 2020.

Shortlisted for the RIBA London Regional Awards and Stage Awards Theatre Building of the Year, our new home is not only a vital resource for our students, but also an emerging centre of excellence for accessibility in the arts. Our fully accessible building is home to leading disability arts practitioners Candoco Dance Company amongst a number of other resident professional companies.

Today’s students will join a constellation of graduates making their mark on the profession. Actor Noah Thomas (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie), Actor/Writer Amy Trigg (winner, inaugural Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2020), Olivier Award-winning Actor/Writer Giles Terera MBE (Hamilton) and Michael Longhurst, Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse are just a few of our notable alumni.

The Backstage Theatre was made possible by the generosity of Lady Susie Sainsbury and the Backstage Trust. It is named in honour of their extraordinary founding gift in support of Mountview’s new home.

Susie understood and committed to the vision of a new Mountview in Peckham from the outset, and we will always be deeply grateful to her for championing the project and supporting the next generation of performers and theatre makers at Mountview.

THE JUDI DENCH FUND We believe that all young people with the talent and drive to succeed should be supported to pursue lifelong careers in the arts.

The Judi Dench Fund for Access to Drama Training invests in initiatives that break down barriers to drama training, including a nationwide talent scouting network, scholarships, hardship grants and wellbeing and welfare support.

Like charities everywhere, Mountview is facing unprecedented challenges and the Judi Dench Fund has never been more vital. Financial need amongst students is at an all-time high and help at this critical moment could make the difference between a young artist flourishing and being unable to sustain themselves through their training.

If you enjoy this performance, please consider donating what you would have paid for a ticket. Together we can directly alter the prospects of young people at a pivotal moment in their lives.

THANK YOU Mountview extends a sincere thank you to the individuals and organisations who generously support our work, including the following major donors: The Mackintosh Foundation The Backstage Trust Southwark Council The Leverhulme Trust Sir Trevor and Lady Susan Chinn André and Judith Ptaszynski Mr Peter Williams and Ms Heather Acton Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation Elaine Paige OBE Mr Jamie Lonsdale Sir Clive Jones and Dame Vikki Heywood Scops Arts Trust Noël Coward Foundation Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation And those who wish to remain anonymous.

To make a gift or find out more, we warmly invite you to visit our website or get in touch with the Development team. Thank you.

‘Mountview was the only school willing to give someone like me a chance. I was going through the homeless system when I applied and I thought going to drama school was going to be an impossible mission, but then Mountview offered me a place and a full scholarship - it changed my life. Knowing the Judi Dench Fund will help future students in my position is amazing.’

CHARLIE HEPTINSTALL BA (Hons) Performance - Acting 2020 graduate Photo by RULER

Inspired by Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park, Beneatha’s Place follows Beneatha Younger at two pivotal moments in her life. We meet her as a young woman moving from 1950s Chicago to Nigeria on the eve of its independence from British colonial rule, and as an academic in contemporary America, exploring the nature of identity, community and what it means to become a leader.

CAST

DURATION 105 MINUTES

TASHINGA BEPETE

DÉJA J. BOWENS

JACOB BUKASA

ADAM JASEN

Joseph Asagai Funmilayo

Alaiyo-Beneatha Asagai Funmilayo ∙ Dean Beneatha Asagai-Younger

Tunde ∙ Wale Oguns

Mr. Nelson ∙ Prof. Gary Jacobs

TAYA MING

ELISE O’MEARA

TOM PAGE

GEORGIA THRUSSELL

Aunty Fola

Dr. Harriet Banks

Daniel Barnes ∙ Prof. Mark Bond

Mrs Nelson

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR DENZEL WESTLEY-SANDERSON

STAGE MANAGER CAROLINE LOWE

PRODUCTION SOUND ENGINEER LIBBIE READ †

MOVEMENT DIRECTOR TINOVIMBANASHE SIBANDA

DEPUTY STAGE MANAGER IAN S. MURPHY †

SOUND NO. 1 HANNAH MACDONALD

SET & COSTUME DESIGNER NICOLAI HART-HANSEN

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERS LILI FULLER † LOUISA KEMP †

SOUND NO. 2 ETHAN TRAYNOR †

LIGHTING DESIGNER SEB BLABER SOUND DESIGNER BETH DUKE VOICE COACH ESI ACQUAAH-HARRISON WARDROBE MANAGER/SUPERVISOR KATE PAGE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR DÉSIRÉE WENGER ** PRODUCTION MANAGER ALYSHA LAVINIERE

PRODUCTION LX RUTH HARVEY † LX PROGRAMMING MENTOR COLIN EVERSDIJK † LX NO. 2 JOSHUA ROONEY-WALKER † LX NO. 3 EFA GREGORY † LX NO. 4 ZIHAIRE ADAMS †

SOUND NO. 3 BILLY HIGHFIELD † LEAD CARPENTER TOM BARNETT DEPUTY LEAD CARPENTER EMMA HAYWARD LEAD SCENIC ARTISTS AURELIE CLARK MORWENNA GOODBAN DEPUTY SCENIC ARTIST/PROP MAKER EMMA FROUD

SCENIC ARTISTS/PROP MAKERS TEGAN ROSS ‡ HANNAH SUTHERLAND ‡ FRANCESCA GRASSO ‡ VISION MIXER MATTHEW GREED † VIDEO TECHNICIAN NATHAN BROWN † ** Theatre Directing student † Theatre Production Arts student ‡ Scenic Art and Prop Making student

THANKS TO

AUTOGRAPH SOUND RECORDING WHITE LIGHT LTD MARTIN HARMAN

KWAME KWEI-ARMAH Writer

TINOVIMBANASHE SIBANDA Movement Director

Kwame Kwei-Armah is British actor, playwright, director and broadcaster. In 2018 he was made Artistic Director of the Young Vic Theatre, where he has directed Twelfth Night and Tree.

Tinovimbanashe is an actor and movement artist. As an actor, she has worked in renowned venues such as Regents Park Open Air Theatre, The Barbican, Piccadilly Theatre, The Bridge Theatre, The Turbine Theatre, most recently the Olivier Stage at the National Theatre and soon to be appearing at London Coliseum. Alongside experience of ensemble, swing and dance captain work, her creative work includes movement direction for the music video Blessed for Juls curated by TEN (The Essence of Noire), Associate Choreographer for Identity (CTC Dance Company) at Theatre Peckham and her creative platform EZOMGIDO, where she focuses on creating work that combines her versatile background with her evolving artistic voice.

From 2011 to 2018 he was previously the Artistic Director of Baltimore Center Stage where he directed: Jazz, Marley, One Night in Miami, Amadeus, Dance of the Holy Ghosts, The Mountaintop, An Enemy of the People, The Whipping Man and Things of Dry Hours.

Other work as a director includes: Twelfth Night, Comedy of Errors, Much Ado About Nothing, Detroit’67 (Public Theatre, New York), The Liquid Plain (Signature Theatre, New York/Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Porgy and Bess (Baltimore Symphony Orchestra) the Olivier Nominated One Night in Miami for Best New Play 2016 (Donmar Warehouse) and One Love (Birmingham Repertory Theatre).

As a playwright his credits include Tree (Manchester International Festival, Young Vic), One Love (Birmingham Repertory Theatre), Beneatha’s Place (Baltimore Center Stage), Elmina’s Kitchen, Fix Up, Statement of Regret (National Theatre), Let There Be Love and Seize the Day (Tricycle Theatre).

Kwame was Artistic Director for the Festival of Black arts and Culture, Senegal, in 2010. He conceived and directed the opening ceremony at Senghor National stadium. He was an Associate Director of the Donmar Warehouse and has served on the boards of the National Theatre, Tricycle Theatre, and Theatre Communications Group. Kwame was the Chancellor of the University of the Arts London from 2010 to 2015, and in 2012 was awarded an OBE for Services to Drama.

In 2012, 2013 and 2014 Kwame was named Best Director in City Paper’s Best of Baltimore Awards and in 2015 was nominated for the prestigious Stage Directors and Choreographers Zelda Fichandler Award for Best Regional Artistic Director. In 2016 he was awarded the Urban Visionary Award alongside House Representative Elijah Cummings by the Center for Urban Families for his work in the Baltimore community. In 2019 he was the Chair of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting. Kwame is a patron of Ballet Black and a visiting fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University.

Watch Kwame being interviewed for Mountview LIVE on the Mountview YouTube channel – MountviewLDN DENZEL WESTLEY-SANDERSON Director Denzel Westley-Sanderson trained at Mountview graduating in 2017, after graduating Denzel was a part of the resident directors’ pool at the Almeida Theatre. Denzel has previously worked at the Park Theatre, Donmar Warehouse, Stratford East and the Edinburgh Fringe - winning the Fringe Review award for ‘Exciting New Work’. Denzel was the associate director on Equus (Trafalgar Studios) and in 2020 Denzel co-directed Jesus Christ Superstar the Concert (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre). Most recently Denzel was the Associate Director on Dick Whittington (National Theatre).

WARNING

NICOLAI HART-HANSEN Set and Costume Designer Nicolai works as a theatre designer in opera, dance and drama in the UK, Europe and the US. He has worked with companies and theatres such as Belarus Free Theatre, Told by an Idiot, Company of Angels, Rambert Dance Company, The Royal Court, ROH2, Lyric Hammersmith, Dane Hurst Company, Nitro Theatre Company, Rejects Revenge, Charing Cross Theatre, York Theatre Royal, The Arcola, Splitmoon Theatre, The Park Theatre and Candoco. Nicolai is represented by Rachel Daniels at berlinassociates.com SEB BLABER Lighting Designer Seb is a lighting designer for theatre and attractions, He trained at University of the Arts London. His recent design credit includes, No One In This World (Bridewell Theatre), Oregano (Bridewell Theatre), Snow White (Queens Theatre), Boy (Backstage Theatre), Her Naked Skin (Backstage Theatre), Whistle Down the Wind (Minack), Jesus Christ Super Star (Regal/Minack), Paw Patrol Arena Tour - Relighter (Tour/Abu Dhabi), The Nature of Why (International tour), A Raisin in the Sun (Mountview), Jamaica Inn (Tour), PLAY (Tour), Hammer House of Horrors (Hoxton Hall), Kraftwerk: Re:werk (Tour), Virtually Dead (London/Paris) and Napoli Milionaria (Mountview).

BETH DUKE Sound Designer Beth Duke is a theatre sound designer and composer, recent credits include: J’ouvert (Harold Pinter Theatre), One Jewish Boy (Trafalgar Studios/West End/UK tour), Scenes with Girls, Living Newspaper (Royal Court Theatre), Deathdrop (Garrick Theatre), Gentlemen, Pipeline, A Fantastic Bohemian, Lovesick (Arcola Theatre), Reimagining (Almeida Theatre), One Under with Graeae Theatre Company (Plymouth Drum/ UK tour), Superstar, Anything Is Possible If You Think Hard Enough About It (Southwark Playhouse), New Views (Dorfman Theatre, National Theatre), Silence (Mercury Theatre/UK tour), Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon (Old Red Lion), Split!, Boots, Lovely & Jason, Alice, Patricia Gets Ready, Head of State, Goodbear (VAULTS Festival), Together, Not the Same (Sadler’s Wells Theatre), Queen Margaret, 5/11, Emilia (Mountview), Great Expectations (Geffrey Museum), Around the Block (Etcetera), Eros (White Bear), Breathe (Tristan Bates), Boxman (UK tour), Little Did I Know (Bread & Roses), The State of Things (Brockley Jack Studio), Katzenmusik, Hamlet (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama), Ulsta Americans, Hyenas (LAMDA).

As associate - War of the Worlds: The Immersive Experience (56 Leadenhall Street), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Tobacco Factory), Apollo 13 (Original Theatre Company), Goodbear, Do Our Best (Edinburgh Festival Fringe) and Dust (New York Theatre Workshop).

We don’t want to give away any ‘spoilers’ for a show, but understand that some content may cause distress for audiences. If there are certain themes or content that you would find particularly upsetting, we encourage you to contact us before viewing to find out more about the show - please email boxoffice@mountview.org.uk.

Beneatha’s Place contains depictions and discussion of racism and colonialism (including racist images, items and language), threat and injury (not depicted on-stage), strobe lighting, and one instance of an explosion (off-stage).

COMING UP NEXT

14 - 17 April 2021 SIGN UP FOR OUR LATEST NEWS: mountview.org.uk/keep-in-touch

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Principal & Artistic Director Stephen Jameson

@mountviewldn

Executive Director Sarah Preece

Chairman Dame Vikki Heywood CBE

Board of Directors Sir Brendan Barber · Lady Susan Chinn · Laura Gander-Howe · Trevor Jackson · Benjamin Lafayette · Andrew Parker · John Reiss · Cllr Johnson Situ Dame Rosemary Squire OBE · Giles Terera MBE · Artistic Associates Maria Aberg · Annabel Arden · Paul Arditti · Neil Austin · Alecky Blythe · Paul Clay · Aletta Collins · Lindsey Coulson Brian Cox CBE · Martin Duncan · David Edelstein · Philip Engleheart · Alasdair Flint · Howard Goodall CBE · Douglas Henshall · Amanda Holden · Terry Johnson · Akram Khan MBE Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE · Leigh Lawson · Dame Twiggy Lawson · Eddie Marsan · Elaine Paige OBE · Michael Pennington · Tom Piper MBE · Indhu Rubasingham MBE · Liam Steel Ken Stott · Sarah Travis · Roy Williams OBE · Anton Woodward OBE Registered Office: 120 Peckham Hill Street, London SE15 5JT · Registered Charity No: 274166 · Incorporated In England No: 01019858