SPEAKING WITH The Voice ahead of their annual Black British Theatre awards (BBTA), co-founder Solange Urdang said it was a huge feather in their cap to be hosting this year’s event at the Lyceum in London’s West End.

Usually home to The Disney Lion King, the stage has quite literally been cleared in readiness for the sixth consecutive BBTA.

“It’s quite stressful this year, because it’s the biggest we’ve ever done,” Urdang explains. 

“It’s growing and growing and so the team is really under it this year, but they’re getting it all together. It will be fine. We are so looking forward to the whole thing.”

The event will have extra attention due to the Act For Action report released by the BBTA earlier this year.

Their first of its kind, the report found that Black theatre professionals continue to face a number of deep-rooted systemic challenges and inequalities within the UK theatre industry. 

rawing insights from Black theatre professionals, the Act for Action Report, examines the critical issues impacting their entry into the industry, career development and advancement, financial stability, and mental health and wellbeing. 

The groundbreaking report reveals the persistence of racial bias, lack of meaningful diversity initiatives, and inadequate support systems which have stifled the growth and recognition of Black professionals in British theatre, both on and off the stage.