Lenny Henry

Marcus Ryder

Featuring essays from David Olusoga, Dawn Butler MP, Kit de Waal, Kwame Kwei-Armah, and many more. In response to the international outcry at George Floyd's death, Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder have commissioned this collection of essays to discuss how and why we need to fight for Black lives to matter - not just for Black people but for society as a whole. Recognising Black British experience within the Black Lives Matter movement, nineteen prominent Black figures explain why Black lives should be celebrated when too often they are undervalued. Drawing from personal experience, they stress how Black British people have unique perspectives and experiences that enrich British society and the world; how Black lives are far more interesting and important than the forces that try to limit it. "We achieve everything not because we are superhuman. We achieve the things we achieve because we are human. Our strength does not come from not having any weaknesses, our strength comes from overcoming them" Doreen Lawrence. "I always presumed racism would always be here, that it was a given. But the truth is, it was not always here, it was invented." David Olusoga "Our identity and experience will shape every story, bleed into every poem, inform every essay whether it's about Black 'issues' or not" Kit de Waal

Black British Lives Matter

Who Am I, Again?

HOW DO YOU BEAT THE BULLIES AND THE BIGOTS? HERE'S HOW. The heart-breaking, inspirational (and very funny) story of the man who overcame so much, and won a very special place in a nation's heart. 'A proper delight to read: honest, revealing, human, and always, at its heart, funny.' NEIL GAIMAN *** In his long-awaited autobiography, Sir Lenny Henry tells the extraordinary story of his early years and sudden rise to fame. Born soon after his Jamaican parents had arrived in the Midlands, Lenny was raised as one of seven siblings in a boisterous working household, and sent out into the world with his mum's mantra of 'H'integration! H'integration! H'integration!' echoing in his ears. But 1970s Britain was a hard place, and a bewildering experience for a lone black teenager. A natural ability to make people laugh came in handy. At school it helped subdue the daily racist bullying. In the park, it led to lifelong friendships and occasional snogs. Soon, it would put him on stage at working men's clubs and Black Country discotheques -before an invitation to a TV audition changed his life for ever. ***BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week***

Who am I, again?

Sir Lenny Henry rang up the Office for National Statistics to confirm something he'd been thinking about for a long time. They told him that only 29.5% of the United Kingdom's population is made up of white, heterosexual, able-bodied men; so, he wonders, why do they still make up the vast majority of people we see in our media? Joining forces with the former Chair of the Royal Television Society's Diversity Committee Marcus Ryder, he draws on decades of experience to reveal why recent efforts to diversify media have been thus far ineffective, and why they are simply not enough. With wit, humour and unflinching gravitas they analyse the flaws of current diversity initiatives, point out the structural and financial imbalances working against the cause, and provide clear solutions to get the media industry back on track. Access All Areas is an urgent, actionable manifesto that will dramatically shift the debate around diversity and the media.

The Diversity Manifesto for TV and Beyond

Access All Areas

The Quest for the Big Woof

Neil Gaiman

Fat Charlie Nancy is not having a good week. It all hit the proverbial fan when his rotter of an estranged father dropped dead at a karaoke night and Charlie discovered that his dad was in fact Anansi the spider god. Then he found out that he has a brother (called Spider) who is also a god. And that said brother is hell bent on taking over his life, flat and fiance, and, just to add insult to injury, doing a much better job of being him. Desperate to reclaim his life, Charlie enlists the help of four loco old ladies and their unique brand of voodoo and unleashes a bitter and twisted force to get rid of Spider. But as darkness descends and badness begins is Fat Charlie Nancy going to get his life back in one piece or is he about to enter a whole netherworld of pain?

Anansi Boys

Jonathan Harvey

Howard Brenton

Stacey Gregg

Lucinda Coxon

Jemma Kennedy

Anya Reiss

Morna Pearson

Ryan Craig

Jim Cartwright

Drawing together the work of ten leading playwrights – a mixture of established and current writers – National Theatre Connections 2013 offers young performers between the ages of thirteen and nineteen everywhere an engaging selection of plays to perform, read or study. Each play is specifically commissioned by the National Theatre's literary department and reflects the past year's programming at the venue in the plays' ideas, themes and styles. The plays are performed by approximately 200 schools and youth theatre companies across the UK and Ireland, in partnership with multiple professional regional theatres where the works are showcased. The volume features an introduction by Anthony Banks, Associate Director for the National Theatre Discover Programme, and each play includes notes from the writer and director addressing the themes and ideas behind the play, as well as production notes and exercises. Published to coincide with the 2013 Connections festival, and the 50th anniversary of the National Theatre, this year's collection features work from Howard Brenton, Jim Cartwright, Lucinda Coxon, Ryan Craig, Stacey Gregg, Jonathan Harvey, Lenny Henry, Jemma Kennedy, Morna Pearson, and Anya Reiss.

The Guffin; Mobile Phone Show; What Are They Like?; We Lost Elijah; I'm Spilling My Heart Out Here; Tomorrow I'll Be Happy; Soundclash; Don't Feed the Animals; Ailie and the Alien; Forty-Five Minutes

National Theatre Connections 2013

This, the third National Theatre Connections anthology published with Methuen Drama, is aimed at young performers and schools, and marks the National Theatre's 50th anniversary.

Lenny Henry

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