Ateneo - UPO

Performing Race in Black British Theatre from the Post-War Period to the Present Day.

Tara Arts, Binglish Plays: The Selected Plays of Jatinder Verma and Tara Arts, Methuen 2026
AAVV, Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners: An Anthology of Afriquia Theatre, Methuen 2022
Winsome Pinnock, Leave Taking, Nick Hern 2018
Winsome Pinnock, Rockets and Blue Lights, Nick Hern 2021

* To provide an overview of contemporary Black, British and Asian theatre from the 1970s to the present day, exploring its wide variety of forms.
* To provide the tools to learn how to read and analyse theatrical texts, discussing their most significant formal aspects.
* To put into practice the ability to be active and self-reflective audience members by writing reviews of two performances agreed with the lecturer.

English level B2.
Ability to write, in English (or in Italian for students of Letteratura e spettacolo teatrale) an essay analysing a play agreed with the lecturer

The module is delivered exclusively via distance learning on the DIR platform (pre-recorded lectures, external videos, PowerPoint presentations, self-assessment exercises, study materials), with the exception of two 2-hour face-to-face sessions: one at the start of the first semester and one before the start of the examination period. At least one synchronous distance learning session (live streaming) will be offered to monitor students’ understanding and progress with the course material.

It is strongly recommended that you attend the first face-to-face session, where the course structure and how distance learning works will be explained, and any queries students may have will be answered..
This program is designed to be consistent with Goals 4, 5, 16) of the UNESCO 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Quality Education, Reducing Gender Gap; Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

Ongoing self-assessment test on the first part of the module, which covers Black Cultural Studies in the UK. Ongoing quiz to assess knowledge of the second part of the module, which presents profiles of the most important Black British and Asian authors and companies from the 1970s to the 2000s: a minimum of 6 correct answers out of 10 is required to pass. Participation in the forum discussion on the text read and analysed as an example: ‘Welcome Home Jacko’ by Mustapha Matura, in the third part of the module. A 10-page written paper in English (in Italian for students of Letteratura e spettacolo teatrale) on the performative analysis of a play agreed with the lecturer. The paper will have to be uploaded onto the DIR page and is designer to put into practice the tools of analysis and description illustrated in class with the sample text, as well as to demonstrate a good understanding of the constituent elements of a play (Introduction to Theatre Elements). Two memoirs (5 pages each) on performances seen live and agreed with the lecturer. Weighting for assessment: profile quiz 10%; analytical paper 80%; reports 10%. The use of AI is not permitted for any of the assessment tasks part of the exam.

The module offers a historical, cultural and theoretical introduction, as well as a methodology for performative analysis applied to the study of Black, British and Asian theatre, based on the critical discussions about "race" developed since the 1970s by Black and Asian Cultural Studies in the UK; it presents decade-by-decade profiles of the leading Black and Asian playwrights and theatre companies in Britain, from the post-war period to the present day; It introduces all the key theatrical elements required for a performative analysis of a play. A detailed case study will be presented in the third part of the module, dedicated to Mustapha Matura’s "Welcome Home Jacko" (1979). The text is also available in the library in the anthology "The Methuen Drama Book of Plays by Black British Writers". The module requires students to attend two theatre performances, agreed upon with the lecturer, and to write two spectator's "memoirs" (5 pages each).

* To acquire a basic understanding of the main forms of contemporary Black British and Asian theatre
* To be able to contextualise Black British and Asian theatre in terms of its specific characteristics in relation to mainstream British culture
* To be able to describe and analyse a play in writing, using appropriate language and identifying all its main components.
* To develop an interest in contemporary theatre arts and a greater awareness of the importance of the audience in the creation of meaning