Courtesy of Irven Lewis.

An SEND Advocate and Empowerment Coach – creative Oneness Sankara brings her years of knowledge supporting SEND families, as well as her own personal journey to highlight the story of a British African Caribbean mother supporting a child with Down Syndrome with work-in-progress T21 Alchemy. Playing as part of Certain Blacks’ Afro Futures Festival which takes places from 6th to 9th March, Oneness Sankara tells us more about exploring the show’s topic further, her roles as a creative/SEND Advocate/Empowerment Coach and what’s been learned from creating the work in progress.

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The biggest celebration of West End theatre – London Theatre Week – is extending with more shows, more tickets and more time, now running for one extra week from today until Sunday 9 March, offering tickets to the hottest musicals and plays in London from just £15.

10 more shows have been added, with thousands more tickets on sale to now over 80 shows, meaning this is the biggest London Theatre Week in its eight year history.
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Malta is set to host the very first edition of Breaking Borders Malta – a brand-new and the largest music festival in Europe celebrating South Asian heritage. Taking place between 4-7^thSeptember this year, the festival will bring together the very best of the UK’s South Asian music scene and community in the sun-soaked setting of the Mediterranean sea.

The island will transform into a sun-soaked, party paradise, packed with nonstop live music and performances from global headlining acts including Karan Aujla, Arjan Dhillon, Jazzy B, Navaan Sandhu, Sukha, Tegi Pannu, Talwiinder, Raf Saperra, Priya Ragu & JK & Tru Skool.

Festival goers can also expect curated takeovers from Dialled In, Desi Beatz & Jawani 4eva showcasing and celebrating the best South Asian DJs and voices on the scene.

UK’s South Asian-focused underground platform, Dialled In, will host an opening night club takeover with live sets from Ahadadream, Arthi, Zeemuffin, Pxssy Palace, Dhol Academy & Manj.

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(c) Alex Brenner. No use without credit.

Finally, after a year and a half of seeing Palestinians dying on our screens, a major theatre is taking on works that confront the most censored subject of our time.

As I sit in the cramped basement bar, eating my homemade dal and rice from a Tupperware container, I can’t help but compare this setting to the fundraiser nights held by the grassroots theatre company White Kite Collective. Their event series “Stand with Palestinians: Messages from Gaza” — welcomed at the Arcola, one of the few venues brave enough to publicly platform Palestinian voices—are different. There, the rooms are filled with more people of colour, more young people, more keffiyehs. The energy feels urgent. Oh well, I’ll take it still. Let me wait to see what unfurls on stage.

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Live Odyssey, an immersive new music experience in Camden, is set to celebrate the sounds, culture, and heritage that have shaped British music. With state-of-the-art holographic performances from iconic artists, electrifying live shows, and newly announced exhibitions curated by Pop Nouveau, Live Odyssey is a must-visit for music lovers and culture enthusiasts alike.

A Journey Through British Music & Visual Art

Live Odyssey takes visitors on a two-and-a-half-hour musical adventure, capturing the evolution of British music. From the anthems of the 60s and 70s to the Britpop glory of the 90s and the defining sounds of today, each room will immerse guests in a different musical era.

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Multi-award-winning South African-New Zealander Urzila Carlson is one of Australian and New Zealand’s biggest comedy stars, and she’s bringing her trademark cheeky wit back to the UK stages in November 2025 with the You Don’t Say Tour.

The tour will kick off in Leeds on 5 November then continue across the UK stopping off in York, Carlisle, Glasgow and Manchester. Urzila will take to London’s iconic stage at The London Palladium on 12 November before continuing her UK tour run in Cardiff, Dublin, Birmingham, Reading, and many more.

Presales for Urzila Carlson’s UK tour will start Wednesday 26 February at 10am local time and will continue throughout the week with general on sale starting on Friday 28 February at 10am local time via LiveNation.co.uk.

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Somerset House Summer Series with American Express® returns to London this July for eleven nights of essential sounds from some of the world’s most compelling artists. Hosted in the spectacular enclosed surroundings of Somerset House’s open-air courtyard, the live music festival affords close access to the artists on stage, promising personal and powerful performances with superlative sounds resonating all around, to ensure an electrifying experience.

Somerset House Summer Series has a highly acclaimed reputation for platforming a diverse range of international talent and genres.  Live music experiences have been a cornerstone of Somerset House’s cultural programme ever since it transformed into a leading international arts destination in 2000, with a rollcall of incredible former headliners including Amy Winehouse, Adele, Patti Smith, The Roots and Rosalía, and support acts such as Kojey Radical, Little Simz and Wolf Alice.

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From the opening scene, the production pitches suffering so high—wailing and all—that it leaves itself nowhere to go. The emotional intensity is already at its peak before anything unfolds, making for a numbing rather than escalating experience.

Visually, though, the set design is incredible. The cages and scaffolding, prison garms and streetwear, the looming Big House behind the glass—it all works to make the adaptation look relevant and striking. Unfortunately the ensemble lack cohesion. Moments that should feel revolutionary instead feel sparse, missing that collective urgency needed to make the story resonate.

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An outstanding play that beautifully conveys both the beauty and the pain of suffering with mental health—and the people who love us through the worst of times.

I first encountered babirye’s work at Stratford East as part of the Burn it Down programme, where they presented Yummy, a show placed in a game where “nobody is eating.” I loved the work-in-progress, so I was really excited to see a fully fleshed-out production by them—especially since …blackbird hour acts as a sequel to …cake, their critically acclaimed debut at Theatre Peckham.

Visually, the stage is bathed in deep blue, inky light. A bed sits at its centre like a ship—such a striking choice because mental health struggles are so often tied to a life spent in bed. But here, the bed isn’t just a bed. It becomes a portal to other possibilities—through music, letters, journals, and memory, the days spent in it take on a different form entirely. Before the show begins, snippets of conversation drift in, setting the tone and inviting us into Eshe’s world… “Who hurt you?”

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