LPW Play Club #4 – Barbershop Chronicles by Inua Ellams

Here we go again, it’s Play Club number 4!

In response to Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag last month, we received some fantastic entries for the third Play Club which included a brilliant mix of humour, dark comedy and family relationships. It was very difficult to choose a piece for the reading, but we managed to make our selection and the chosen play for the third Play Club is…  

Bright Shoes by Timothy Norman

An intro to Timothy:

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We’re delighted to be taking Timothy’s  play for a reading by actors at the final members meet-up of the year, where we can discuss the piece and have conversations surrounding the work! And if you want a bit of the action, there’s still one more chance to submit your work! Read on below to find out about out what we’re reading this month…  

Barbershop Chronicles by Inua Ellams

Following on from the major success and popularity of this play, we thought it would be a great selection for our next Play Club. 

For generations, African men have gathered in barber shops. Sometimes they have haircuts, sometimes they listen, more often than not they talk.

Barber shops are confession boxes, political platforms, preacher-pulpits and football pitches… places to go for unofficial advice, and to keep in touch with the world.

 Barber Shop Chronicles is a heart-warming, hilarious and insightful play, set in Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos, Accra and London. The play invites the audience into a uniquely masculine environment where the banter may be barbed, but the truth always telling.

Get your copy of the play here

Submissions

As we mentioned previously, we challenge you to write a short, 10 page play (12 font size, please!) in direct response to what you’ve read.

Our submission window in response to Barber Shop Chronicles will be open from Monday 9th September – Sunday 6th October so please don’t send us scripts before then!

An email will be sent your way once the window is open with full details of how to submit, including; where to send it, our format guidelines and some top tips.

But until then, happy reading for this month!

You’re also more than welcome to just read the plays and join in some discussion with us about them on the members Facebook group! We’ll open up a discussion forum on there at the same time we open for submissions, so don’t feel you have to write a play, you’re absolutely fine to just read too.

Image source: Nick Hern Books