Black Performance in Birmingham
Black people have been the creators and subjects of performance in Britain for centuries. As actors, composers, musicians, dancers, playwrights and poets, black performers have used their experiences to shape the cultural life of Britain in innovative ways.
This learning package seeks to uncover some of the history of black performance that has taken place in Birmingham over the last two centuries using sources in Birmingham City Archives. Tracing this history takes us from crude representations of black people and cultures on the city's stages during the 19th century to the more recent development of companies and productions by black artists which have challenged earlier representations of black people by giving them a voice. What the sources reveal is that from music, and theatre to dance, cinema and the spoken word, Birmingham has played an important role in hosting black performance in Britain.
Read on to find out more about the history of black performance in Birmingham.
Author: Sarah Dar
Image: Andy Hamilton's band, 1950s [Central Library - Local Studies: Dyche Collection]
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19th Century Black Performance
20th Century Black Performance
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