Jaja’s African Hair Braiding to return to London

Tony Award-winning play Jaja’s African Hair Braiding will return to the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.

Set in a Harlem hair braiding salon over the course of one summer’s day, the play follows a group of West African immigrant braiders and their customers as they navigate work, relationships and personal ambitions.

The play premiered on Broadway during Manhattan Theatre Club’s 2023–2024 season, where it received multiple awards, including two Tony Awards, and later toured the US. It had its UK premiere at the Lyric Hammersmith in March 2026 and will return to the same theatre from 28 January to 27 February 2027.

Written by Jocelyn Bioh and directed by Monique Touko, the piece reunites the creative team behind School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, which was staged at the Lyric in 2023. Bioh explained the choice, saying: “As they say, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!’ Our School Girls team really smashed it the first time around and I absolutely adored working with all of them. We had an amazing shorthand coming into this Jaja’s process, so it really made all of the work quite seamless and it shows in the work.”

For director Touko, the thing that most appeals about working with Bioh is simple: “I am seen.”

She adds: “Firstly, through my complexion as a dark-skinned woman in School Girls, and now through my Afro hair in Jaja’s. The nuances of Black femininity and how we move through the world are what Jocelyn captures so masterfully. The script is infused with comedy and heart. It’s a privilege to paint such a vivid world of New York City and develop full, memorable characters that keep audiences coming back.”

2026 marks Touko’s tenth year in the industry and earlier this year, she made her West End debut with Marie and Rosetta, and Olivier Award-winning show The Boy at the Back of the Class embarked on its second national tour. The year will end with The Afronauts, which closes the 70th season of the Royal Court. If that wasn’t enough, her debut short film is in post-production.

Bioh’s School Girls is currently playing on Broadway, and will see the writer take to the stage herself for a limited run of performances.

Reflecting on Jaja’s first run in London, Bioh said: “I think I was prepared for UK audiences to be more reserved, but with Jaja’s, I found that they were more vocal than any American audience. It was amazing! There is such a large community of African and 1st Generation African people here in the UK, so there wasn’t a single cultural reference missed. Even with the unique specificity of the play being set in Harlem in 2019, I found that audiences here really connected to the universality of the story and that was an absolute thrill to witness every night.”

She recalls a specific moment “where a character walks out dressed a certain way that is fairly recognisable and culturally specific,” saying “the rolls of laughter that waved through the audience before the character even spoke?! It was amazing!”

Our WhatsOnStage critic gave a glowing review, stating that the writing humanised the immigrant experience and is a celebration of African culture.

“I think the singular narrative of African stories has always troubled me,” Bioh begins. “This stunning and vast continent contains a multitude of stories and human experiences that do not only center struggle, famine, and strife. I think that is the same for immigrant stories as, especially in America, there has been a dangerous and harmful narrative created about immigrant communities and ‘who belongs where.’

“If humanising their stories and setting these characters in a place like a hair braiding shop is what will allow people to find empathy with their stories, then I’ve done my job.”

The cast and full creative team are to be announced for the new run.