Michael X

This semi-staged reading will take place at the Almeida, as part of Six Artists in Search of a Play.

Orator and Black Power activist Michael X addresses the crowd at the 1965 Racial Adjustment Action Society, ‘the lifeblood of the Black man in Britain.’ His incendiary speech takes in his journey from Trinidad to Notting Hill and the destruction of the Caribbean dream in the face of British racism.

Cherrelle Skeete on why she chose this play: “I was in my first term at drama school in London and still finding my feet away from Birmingham. I was shiny and new to the big smoke. I had a mental list in my head of all the historically Caribbean spots across the city, with Ladbroke Grove at the top. So when I saw flyers around the drama school asking “Who was Michael X? Black Power activist and political icon? Liar, pimp, murderer ?”, and then read that the performance was taking place at the legendary Tabernacle, I knew it would be a piece of theatre specifically for the residents of that area, the very community Michael X would have served. Michael X represents the community hero that was created out of a desire to survive and thrive no matter what. Although the majority of the black power movement was captured in London, there were Michael X’s all over the UK. Telling this story pays homage to the unsung heroes of inner city migrant communities.”