39 min listen
Yvonne Brewster
ratings:
Length:
36 minutes
Released:
Mar 27, 2005
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the theatre director Yvonne Brewster. She has been a major force in black British theatre for the last 20 years. Born into a wealthy family in Jamaica, Yvonne rebelled against her parents' plans for her - marriage and children - to become a theatrical pioneer. She says she was the first black drama student in Britain - but when she enrolled, her drama school's principal told her that, as a black actress, she would never get work here. She went on to become the first black woman to direct at the National Theatre.
Throughout her career Yvonne has been an outspoken proponent of black theatre. In 1986 she founded the theatre company Talawa, whose name in Jamaican dialect means tough or feisty. Talawa gained attention - and audiences - by putting on productions such as an all-black Importance of Being Earnest.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Many Rivers to Cross by Jimmy Cliff
Book: Primer to learn Italian and tape
Luxury: Olive oil
Throughout her career Yvonne has been an outspoken proponent of black theatre. In 1986 she founded the theatre company Talawa, whose name in Jamaican dialect means tough or feisty. Talawa gained attention - and audiences - by putting on productions such as an all-black Importance of Being Earnest.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Many Rivers to Cross by Jimmy Cliff
Book: Primer to learn Italian and tape
Luxury: Olive oil
Released:
Mar 27, 2005
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
David Starkey: Sue Lawley's castaway is historian and broadcaster David Starkey by Desert Island Discs: Archive 2005-2010