Ryan Calais Cameron's ‘For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy’ play sets West End transfer

The For Colored Girls inspired play will run at the Apollo Theatre for six weeks.

Following performances at the New Diorama Theatre and the Royal Court, Ryan Calais Cameron’s play, For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy, will play a limited West End engagement. For Black Boys begins previews at the Apollo Theatre on 25 March, with an opening night on 31 March, and performances to 7 May.

Inspired by Ntozake Shange’s 1976 play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When The Rainbow is Enuf, the similarly named For Black Boys charts the experiences of Black men in modern-day society. As six men meet for group therapy, they open up on what it means to be Black. For Black Boys utilises music, movement, storytelling and verse to explore how racism and marginalisation affects them.

Ryan Calais Cameron devised the play in the wake of the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2013. "A West End transfer of For Black Boys, will be a momentous occasion for my community and those who have taken the show into their hearts. We really hope this show will drastically change the commercial theatre landscape by ensuring theatre is for everyone and reflects our society; we could not have gotten this far without the immense support of our advocates and audiences," said Cameron.

The original For Black Boys cast return for the West End transfer: Mark Akintimehin, Emmanuel Akwafo, Nnabiko Ejimofor, Darragh Hand, Aruna Jalloh and Kaine Lawrence.

The play features set and costume design by Anna Reid, lighting design by Rory Beaton, music and sound design by Nicola T Chang, movement direction by Theophilus O. Bailey and musical direction by John Pfumojena.

For Black Boys marks the second New Diorama Theatre show to transfer to the West End this year. The World War Two musical Operation Mincemeat will begin performances at the Fortune Theatre in March 2023.

For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy is at the Apollo Theatre.

Book For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy tickets on London Theatre.

Photo credit: For Black Boys at the Royal Court (Photo courtesy of production)