Snakes & Ladders

Band of Gold star Cathy Tyson returns to the stage this Spring in Sarah Naomi Lee’s bitter sweet black hair salon drama Snakes and Ladders. The Liverpudlian, who shot to fame starring alongside Bob Hoskins in the 1986 feature film Mona Lisa, recently took a short interval out of her acting career to take on the very different role as a mature English student at Brunel University. She now takes the role of Amma in the spring tour of Lee’s affectionate family tale about three mixed race sisters and their relationship with their hair.

A hairdresser’s salon, an impending wedding and three sisters in an everyday environment. Amma can’t relax, Kitten is “blessed” with “good hair” and Sista is allergic to family life. Each knows their place, each is getting on with life, love and one another. Everything is fine… then in steps Simone and suddenly no one knows who they are anymore. Box braids and banter, curls and confidences, revelations and recriminations, This is a bitter sweet comedy, a study of family life, of sisterly relationships, hidden truths, secret pasts and deep underlying love.

Snakes and Ladders is inspired by true stories collected from women in a Black hair salon in Brighton. Weaving its way through the production audiovisual archive footage, charting the histories and memories of real women, punctuates the drama on stage.

BBC radio writer Sarah Naomi Lee’s premier theatre piece is directed by New York International Festival 2013 Overall Excellence winner, Kerri McLean.

Cathy Tyson is joined by Allyson Ava-Brown, Nicola Blackman and Janet Kumah in the other roles.

Sarah Naomi Lee was brought up in London with a Jamaican father and English mother. After graduating with a degree in English Literature, she worked as a teacher, community worker and researcher in Cornwall, Ghana and Brighton. Sarah has written two radio plays for the BBC, which were broadcast on Radio 3 in 2007 and Radio 4 in 2009. She has also worked as a radio producer for BBC local radio.

Plenty Productions is a community interest company that facilitates high quality, collaborative, community-based arts and media projects. Rolemop Arts creates live and digital stories for theatre, film, installations, exhibitions, and events.

http://www.snakesandladders.eu

http://www.plentyproductions.co.uk

http://www.rolemop.org.uk

LISTINGS

Thursday 10 & Friday 11 April,

Fairfield Halls, Croydon

7.30pm

£12/£16

Box Office: 020 8688 9291

Saturday 19 & Sunday 20 April,

Brighton Dome Studio Theatre

7.30pm