Trish Cooke’s cultural highlights

Trish Cooke is a playwright and children’s book author. A Royal Literary Fund fellow and founding editorial board member of WritersMosaic. With plays including Back Street Mammy (1989) and Running Dream (1993), her Cinderella (2007) was the first pantomime to be nominated for an Olivier award. Work on BBC Radio 4 includes the comedy drama Single Plus One (2000) and the mini-series Unspoken (2002). Her work on BBC television includes writing for Doctors, EastEnders, JoJo and Gran-Gran, Playdays and The Tweenies. Trish has written more than twenty children’s books, including Full, Full, Full of Love (2003) and the multi-award winning So Much (1994). Her latest book is The Magic Callaloo (2024), and Trish’s Christmas show Pinocchio is on at the Theatre Royal Stratford East till 4 January 2025.

Book: For Such a Time As This 

It was a delight to read Shani Akilah’s debut collection of stories, after attending this progressive young woman’s book launch in June. Each short story is based on one character in a group of friends in London. The stories are stand-alone, but the characters overlap, which is what makes this book appealing. It almost feels like a novel. An easy read that raises questions about being young, black and British in London today, the collection takes you on a journey through their lives and leaves you wanting to know more. I am excited to see what the author comes up with next.

https://oneworld-publications.com/work/for-such-a-time-as-this

Cultural Event: Toronto Caribana (1 – 5 August 2024)

My first time visiting Canada, and what a joy to be at the Toronto Caribana in August. Such a colourful display of costumes and flags, and happy people dancing to the music from many of the Caribbean islands. Going alone to the Caribana was amazing! I had planned to go with my sisters and cousins, but they weren’t able to make it. The beautiful thing about the Caribana is you can go on your own, but not feel alone. I danced like no one was watching (nothing new there!), fist-bumped strangers, spoke French creole to fellow Dominicans who saw my Dominica flag T-shirt and knew I was one of them. The best thing was being able to celebrate differences with other West Indians and, at the same time, share a common language of joy and love through music and dance. At the time of writing, I am still in Canada and reading about the anti-immigrant riots erupting at home all over the UK, and it breaks my heart.

https://www.caribanatoronto.com

Film: The Trip to Bountiful

The Trip to Bountiful (2014) is the poignant story of an elderly woman, Carrie Watts (played by Cicely Tyson), living with her son Ludie (Blair Underwood) and his wife Jessie Mae (Vanessa Williams) in Houston, but longing to see her hometown again before she dies. Carrie has not seen Bountiful for over twenty years. The film shows the emotional struggle between Carrie and her son Ludie, who thinks he has let his mama down by not having children. After first seeing The Trip to Bountiful as a stage play at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre in New York in 2013, in which a very spritely 88-year-old Cicely Tyson delivered a superb performance, I was delighted to find this TV film version with some of the same cast. This is a film I can watch over and over again.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3317326

Live Concert: Black Music Festival (Leeds, 25 August 2024)

The Black Music Festival at Potternewton Park is always a summer highlight in Leeds, and thankfully the rain held off this year. A fantastic turn out! And lovely seeing friends from back in the day. The festival takes place the day before Carnival Monday with local and international artists performing, such as last year’s headliners Maxi Priest and Omar. This year the Jamaican roots reggae singer Luciano and his band revved up the crowd with hits including ‘Your World and Mine’ and ended on a medley of gospel reggae songs which got the crowd singing along in peaceful harmony. Much fun was had by all.

https://www.leedsinspired.co.uk/events/black-music-festival-0

Theatre: A Raisin in the Sun 

The title of this play by Lorraine Hansberry is taken from a line in the Langston Hughes poem ‘Harlem’ which begins by asking ‘What happens to a dream deferred?’; the play is a stark reflection on the struggle and endurance of a black family living in 1950s Chicago as they try to follow their dreams. Still very relevant today, the 1959 play was the first written by a Black woman to open on Broadway. This production by Headlong, Leeds Playhouse, Lyric Theatre Hammersmith and Nottingham Playhouse offers a blank canvas, sepia-toned set design by Cécile Trémolières for this tried and tested classic, expertly directed by Tinuke Craig. I was particularly impressed with Doreen Blackstock’s robust portrayal of the matriarch Lena, and the ease with which fourteen-year-old actor Josh Ndlovu plays the young Travis. On tour until 16 November 2024.

https://www.headlong.co.uk/productions/a-raisin-in-the-sun

A favourite WritersMosaic writer: Roy Williams

A highlight is Roy Williams‘s three-play series co-written with Clint Dyer, Death of England: The Plays,

Trish Cooke

Trish Cooke writes scripts for theatre, TV, film, radio and she also writes children’s books.