Yard Theatre announces casting for for colored girls… revival

The Yard Theatre has announced the full cast for its revival of Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf. 

Directed by Diane Page, the production marks 50 years since the choreopoem premiered and follows the original production’s two-year Broadway run. Running from 2 September to 3 October 2026, it also serves as the first production in The Yard Theatre’s newly redeveloped venue in Hackney Wick.

The cast will comprise Tatenda Naomi Matsvai, Nadine Higgin, Cherrelle Skeete, Alex Thomas-Smith and Ibilola Rossi.

Shange’s work explores stories of love, violence, joy and survival through a blend of poetry, music and movement. This new production features original music by Jammz.

The creative team includes costume designer Cat Fuller, associate costume designer and supervisor Mio Jue, choreographer Ingrid Mackinnon, choreography associate Rudzani Moleya, composer Jammz, sound designer Esther Kehinde Ajayi, lighting designer Ali Hunter, voice and dialect coach Aundrea Fudge and casting director Heather Basten.

Alongside the production, The Yard will host a programme of accompanying events, including a Writers’ Night on 10 September, the Jammz-curated club night ‘NUFF on 11 September, a Black Out Night: Femmes performance on 17 September, an in-conversation event featuring Diane Page and Booker Prize-winning author Bernadine Evaristo on 24 September, and a Film Club on 25 September.

The production also marks the reopening of the Yard Theatre following a major redevelopment by Takero Shimazaki Architects. The new venue features a 220-seat auditorium and has more than doubled the capacity of the original theatre, which first opened in 2011 after a volunteer-led warehouse conversion.