The Incident
“Why do I have to represent a whole race when I just want to represent me? ”
In honour of Black History Month, Poplar Union is proud to present the new award-winning play from Swedish playwright Joakim Daun, The Incident.
The Incident tackles belonging, migration, racism and power through an intimate love story spanning Sweden and Zimbabwe.
What to expect
How ‘progressive’ are people really, when they’re confronted with difficult choices?
The Incident explores the realities of being in an interracial/cultural relationship and living in a different culture, far from family, support and tradition. It examines what it means to “belong” for an ambitious, black African woman in a mostly white male dominated society.
The play premiered at the Harare International Festival of the Arts in 2017, where it received critical acclaim from the audience and was awarded Outstanding Zimbabwean Theatrical Production. In July 2018, The Incident was part of the main stage programme at the National Arts Festival in South Africa.
“It’s a brilliant production because it forces the audience to interact, to interrogate their own prejudice” – Masego Panyane, Theatre and Entertainment Writer, IOL South Africa
Produced in association with Bilimankhwe Arts with support from the Swedish the Swedish Embassy in London. Grateful thanks to Michaela Waldram-Jones; and Poplar Union. Supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
More about the project
The Incident project are a group of artists from diverse backgrounds who tell untold stories and produce thought provoking theatre.
The Incident was developed by Swedish writer Joakim Daun with American Dramaturge, Zoë Guzy-Sprague and a group of Southern African theatre makers.
The incident is a performance arts project that aims to create dialogue around diversity, racism and cultural understanding. It has two components, a play and a workshop.
Produced in association with Bilimankhwe Arts
The Incident: Uncovered and Explored Workshop
Join The Incident project team on Sunday 28 October for an innovative workshop surrounding themes raised in the play. Find out more here.
Part of Poplar Union’s Black History Month season
