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TheOrator.Press Theatre News And Reviews Page. The Black British Theatre Awards. The Fifth Year Anniversary Special. October 2023
A Black History Month 2023 Theatre Special
The BBTAs Were A Joy To Behold And Self-Evident Proof That Multi-Culturalism In Britain Has Achieved Great Success (After The British Government Asked The Windrush Generation To Come Here. And They Came!)
But A Special, Sassy, Jazzy, Mum & Her Son, Helped Highlight Some Deep Pain Along The Way, And That Some Things Still Need To Change!
The Black British Theatre Awards 2023 Reached A Milestone Anniversary When Its Star-Studded Ceremony Took Place On Sunday October 29 2023 Making Its Own Black British History, In Black History Month, With Much Magic, Sparkle & Excellence. It Was Their 5th Anniversary.
The Founders of The Black British Theatre Awards Are Solange Urdang & Omar Okai And Theirs Is A Tale of Vision, Courage And Commitment. And A Theatrical Salute To’ & Celebration of’ Multi-Culturalism, Inclusion, Diversity, Alleyship, And Equity. Of Great Talent Being Allowed To Shine And Change Lives For The Betterment of Individuals And In Turn Society In General.
The Event Provides “Award Recognition” And A Year Round Youth Engagement & Development Programme. Both of These In Turn To Combine Practical Pathways From The Education System To The Arts World. This Access To The Creative Arts Can Provide Great Opportunities For Members of Previously Under Represented Communities To Create & Tell Their Stories.
In 2019 The Inaugural BBTAs Awards Were Held At At The Old Finsbury Town Hall & Hosted By @Ore Oduba The 2016 Strictly Come Dancing Winner (With His Partner @TheRealJoanneClifton).
In 2020 The Awards Were Televized By The Then New Sky Arts Channel (Sky Channel 130). And They Were Hosted By Comedian @Eddie Nestor From The Old Vic Theatre. The Arts & Culture Channel Had Been Gifted To The Nation The Month Before By The Giant Media Conglomerate As We Were All In The Depths of Covid During September 2020. Its Shows Provided The Nation With Some Much Needed Distraction (For Those Who Had Sky Television). Masks And Social Distancing Were The Order of The Day During The Ceremony. But We Still Fell In Love With It Straight-Away.
In 2021 The BBTAs Were Held At The Old Finsbury Town Hall (For A Second Time As This Is Where Inaugural Awards Were Held). They Were Hosted By Emmy, Grammy, & Tony Award Winner (And Double Oscar Nominee) @Cynthia Erivo Alongside Veteran Actor of Film, Televison And Theatre @Danny.Sapani Who TheOrator.Press (TO.P) Loved In Black Panther, Harlots, And The Theatre Production Hymn For Instance.
In 2022 Sapani Returned To Present The BBTAs Again At The National Theatre, Supported By Its Deputy Artistic Director Clint Dyer@clint_dyer_ Who Delivered The Opening Speech. 2022 Saw Ballet Black Win Several Awards Including Ballet Black Film ‘Eightfold‘ Winning The Award For The Best Use of Innovation & Techology. Best Dance Production And Best Solo Performance In A Dance Production Were Won By Ballet Black Double Bill, Barbican, London, And Cira Robinson@ciraoslynn In The Same Production, Respectively .
Brenda Garratt-Glassman(The First Black Student At The Royal Ballet School) Was In Attendance. And Some Attendees Decried The Fact That Classical Ballet Still “Has A Long Way To Go” In Terms of Representation of @Black Ballet Talent@ciraoslynn @TheOrator.Press.On.Insta Reported On A Shocking Ballet Discrimination Legal Case Two Years Ago.
In 2023 It Was All About Introducing The New Yet Veteran BBTA Performing Arts Patrons Who Each Presented Awards Including Former BBC Entertainment Correspondent @BrendaEmmanusOBE@kenneththarp (Former Professional Dancer), And Symphony Composer Shirley Thompson @ShirleyThompsonMusic Who Featured In The King’s Coronation Earlier This Year, And Lord Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE. Veteran Actor And Supporter And Former Host @Danny Sapani Returned Again To Give A Perfectly Orated Monologue From King Lear. Cedric Neal Sang A Heartfelt Powerful & Moving Song From Kinky Boots. He Is Currently Playing Nicely NicelyIn Guys & Dolls At The Bridge Theatre, So It Was An Honour To See This Passionate Performance From Such A Stellar Actor.
We Were Moved To Tears A Number of Times During This Special Night But None More So Than When The Face of The Deaf Woman In Our Group, A Family Member of A Business Associate,
It Was The Fifth Staging of The Event And The Second Time Being Held At The Lush, Cultured & Historical Venue On The South Bank That Is The National Theatre. The Lyttleton Theatre No Less. And It Seemed So Very Appropriate.
Lit Up With Joy At Seeing The First (of Two) Black British Sign Language Experts On The Side of The Stage Start To Speak In Sign Language. From That Moment On She Was Transfixed. It Made A Huge Difference Which We Were Moved To Witness In Real Life & In Real Time. And Both Lorraine & Deborah The Two Afro-Caribbean BSL Experts Concerned Were Very Gracious In Person. We Went To Meet Them After The Ceremony & Met Another Deaf Lady Along The Way, Equally Moved & Happy. That’s The Power of Inclusion.
@Giovanni Pernice & Rose Ayling-Ellis @Rose.a.e Initially Famous For Her Role In Eastenders As A Deaf Actress Brought A New Awareness of The Deaf Community & Importance of Signing To The Nation’s Attention With A Ground-Breaking Dance Which Showcased A Silent Music Moment. They Subsequently Won The Show Two Years Ago. Since Then BSL Has Become A Legally Recognised Language. British Sign.Co.UK
Layton Williams, One of This Year’s Breakout Strictly Stars Was In The House Looking Supremely Stylish & Immacculate And Workng It In A Tasselled Broke-Back-Mountain-Esq Dinner Jacket With Cowboy Boots. (Above Photo: @IvanWeiss.London)
In 2019 He Won The BBTAs First Ever Award For Best Male Actor In A Musical For Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. In 2020 (During The Covid Broadcast On Sky Arts) He Won The Black British Theatre LGBTQ+ Champion Award. At The BBTAs 2021 He Called For More Black Producers And Decried The Fact That He’d Only Ever Worked With Just Two, Namely Theatre Production Power Couple Chris Steward of West End Musical Productions.com and His Partner @Shanay Holmes.
Williams Is Currently Shinning Bright In Strictly Come Dancing 2023 Where He Is Taking The Formal Yet Fun & Glamourous Dancing Competiton Very Seriously Indeed, Performing Exceptional Innovative Dance Routines With His Same-Sex Partner Nikita @Nikita_Kuzmin (Half Ukranian & Half Italian). British Sign.Co.UK
Jordan Shaw,Winner (2022) Best Supporting Male Actor In A Musical,
Les Misérables,
TheSondheim Theatre, London
“[These Awards Are] So Important Because When I Was Coming Up, There Wasn’t A Huge Platform For Musical Theatre Actors Of Colour To Be Celebrated. I Think The Way That Casting Is Changing Now Is So Exciting – Theatre Is So Exciting And So Colourful And Diverse. I Think It’s Great For The Younger Generation To Have Something To Aspire To.“
The Pride, Joy, And Deportment of Young Kylan Denis Pictured With Fellow Young Actor Hiedi Williams Vindicate The Words of Jordan Shaw Opposite,
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