Mawa Theatre unveils cast for What's Past Is Prologue Shakespeare series

Casting has been unveiled for Mawa Theatre's new online film project, which will use the work of Shakespeare to shed a light on aspects of the Black Female British experience.

Aretha Ayeh will play Rosalind, Lois Chimimba will play Macbeth, Alexandra James will play Hermione, Gabrielle Nimo will play Juliet, Kimberley Okoye will play Romeo, Cherrelle Skeete will play Emilia and Ellen Thomas will play The Porter.

The directors for the seven videos will be Michael Buffong (in collaboration with Talawa Theatre Company), Dawn Walton, Tinuke Craig, Julie Spencer and Mawa Theatre's artistic director, Maisey Bawden.

Bawden said today: "We are really excited to be able to create accessible online resources for our audiences to witness some of Shakespeare's most famous works in a way they've never been done before. It is very important to us to represent the full spectrum of our community in this initial project and going forward, we hope our work reflects that with this team of fantastic cast and creatives."

The project, titled "What's Past Is Prologue", debuts on 31 August 2021 via YouTube.