How many writers from ethnically diverse communities can you remember studying in school? Not many? You might be surprised to learn that not much has changed… Until now!

For too long, the study of English literature and drama in secondary schools has been dominated by the white experience. Lit in Colour is a vital campaign to decolonise the curriculum and bring rich and relevant works by Global Majority writers to schools around the country, so that students can study books and plays by and about people they recognise as similar to themselves.

This free event will celebrate the publication of the 2024 instalment of Bloomsbury Publishing’s (Incomplete) Play List – a specially curated selection of plays by writers from Black, Asian, Jewish and other Minority Ethnic groups. These plays are all suitable for study at secondary school level and represent a diverse range of identities, narratives and experiences.

Not only will the event feature the experts driving this change, but we will be joined by talented young actors (and some famous faces!) who will act out scenes from some of the listed plays.

We invite secondary school teachers, educators, youth theatre leaders, students, theatre industry and those passionate about seeing systemic change to come along, contribute to the discussion and celebrate the progress made so far.

We would encourage all those who can to donate £5 to the charity The Big House, who work with care-experienced young adults to create theatre productions, in place of the price of a ticket when you book.

Please note that some play extracts contain strong language.

Photo credit: Jerome Favre (taken at the launch of the Bloomsbury Lit in Colour Play List 2023)