Anni Domingo’s cultural highlights

Anni Domingo is an actress, director and writer who works extensively in radio, TV, films and theatre. She lectures in Drama and directs at various UK universities and theatres. Her poems and short stories are published in several anthologies, and her workbooks on Shakespeare have been used in many schools. Her awards include the National Writing Centre’s ‘Escalator’ programme and The Hedgebrook Centre Writers Retreat in Seattle. Her first screenplay, Blessed Assurance, is out in 2024. An extract from her debut novel Breaking the Maafa Chain (2022) features in The New Daughters of Africa anthology. She has written for publications including The Guardian and WritersMosaic. Anni is a trustee on several boards, including The London Library. She is now working on Ominira, her second novel as part of her PhD at Kings College London.

Photo of Anni Domingo courtesy of the author

Film: If Beale Street Could Talk

During celebrations of James Baldwin’s centenary in August 2024, I was honoured to be on the panel for a Q&A after the showing of my favourite film If Beale Street Could Talk (2018). Written and directed by Barry Jenkins and based on Baldwin’s fifth novel, the film honours the source material. A young woman and her family seek to clear her wrongly charged lover and prove his innocence before the birth of their child. In the bittersweet ending, Baldwin stresses the communal bond between members of an oppressed minority, especially between members of a family. I found the film moving and thought-provoking, highlighting the injustice and systemic racism that still plagues society.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7125860/

 

Art: Tavares Strachan – There is Light Somewhere

James Baldwin wrote: ‘It is necessary, while in darkness, to know that there is a light somewhere’. Tavares Strachan’s There Is Light Somewhere delivers that promise. This multi-sensory exhibition features immersive installations, fantastic sculptures and remarkable and striking collages. It highlights Strachan’s groundbreaking approach to celebrating unsung explorers and cultural pioneers. Art like this is the highest form of hope. It inspires and excites me that he shines a light on the kind of hidden histories and overlooked stories that I write about in my novel Breaking the Maafa Chain. 

https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/tavares-strachan-there-is-light-somewhere/

 

Book: Encounters with James Baldwin: celebrating 100 years 

by Lindsay Barrett (Author), Fred D’Aguiar (Author), Paterson Joseph (Author), Zita Holbourne (Author), Tade Thompson (Author), Peter Kalu (Author), Su Andi (Author), Ray Shell (Author), Kadija George Sesay (Editor), Stella Dadzie (Introduction) (Supernova Books, 2024) 

Celebrating the trailblazing Baldwin’s centenary, this wide-ranging literary anthology Encounters with Baldwin has more than 30 brilliant writers sending love letters to James Baldwin. This moving collection of short essays, poetry and personal reflections remind me of the legacy of this inspirational writer, activist, visionary. The thoughts, speeches and writings of James Baldwin have long influenced me. He boldly fought for Black civil liberties, the need for social justice and spoke about race, living abroad and his sexuality. It is not surprising that almost four decades after Baldwin’s death he continues to influence the way we think in many complex ways. 

https://www.aurorametro.com/product/encounters-with-james-baldwin/

 

Play: Death of England: Delroy 

The linked trilogy Death of England: The Plays, by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams, (directed by Dyer) explores the British white and black working-class experience. The plays can be watched as a standalone experience or seen altogether. I saw Death of England: Delroy, the second in the series. It is sharp, hard hitting, funny at times, and brilliantly directed. The set by Ultz, a raised, bright red walkway in the shape of a St. George Cross, allows the phenomenal Paapa Essiedu to stay close to the audience. I found this play furiously political, exhilarating, and profoundly moving. 

https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/whats-on/death-of-england-delroy/

 

Historical Tour: Black History Walks – Bus Tour                               

Black History Walks offer over twelve guided walking, bus and river tours of London. The comprehensive coverage of historical places in London outlines Black history in the streets, buildings and architecture across the capital. Our extremely knowledgeable guide was the author and historian S.I. Martin, who pointed out many hidden Black connections in sculptures. One such is the black curly-haired male carrying a gun on the Death of Nelson relief panel on Nelson’s Column, Trafalgar Square. Another, usually unnoticed, in Stockwell Terrace is the 10ft Bronze Woman, by the sculptors Ian Walters and Aleix Barbat. I found the three-hour bus tour enlightening and inspiring.

https://blackhistorywalks.co.uk/

Music: Beyond the Bassline: 500 Years of Black British Music 

Beyond the Bassline, at the British Library, explored the people, spaces and genres that have transformed the landscape of British music. It celebrates music as a form of entertainment and vehicle for community, a source of liberation, protest and education. It contains more than 200 exhibits divided into different spaces, forming a loose chronology of 500 years of Black music in Britain. I walked through an emotional, musical, memory lane, enjoying each section’s new soundscapes, artworks and films created by artists and community collectives from around the UK. The exhibition broadened my understanding of Black British music, placing it within historical conversations.

https://beyondthebassline.seetickets.com/timeslots/filter/beyond-the-bassline

 

Favoured WritersMosaic Writer 

I would like to highlight Jacqueline Crooks, the Society of Authors’ Paul Torday prize-winner 2024, for her brilliant debut novel Fire Rush.

https://writersmosaic.org.uk/people/jacqueline-crooks/