Coventry, 20 May 2024 – A vibrant new play is set to debut this week, featuring an exceptional storyline that intertwines themes of friendship, motherhood, sisterhood, grief, joy, and the sublime healing power of water. Written by prolific, writer, producer, performer, artist and community organiser, Siana Bangura, this production centres on the lives of three women of West African heritage who learn to swim. Through this endeavour, they build community in their hearts, as well as in their adopted city of Coventry. Colliding West Africa and the West Midlands in this poetic story, the play offers sharp observations on contemporary British life.
Siana Bangura has gained recognition for her evocative and socially conscious writing, with her works appearing in mainstream and alternative publications such as The Guardian, The Metro, Evening Standard, Black Ballad, Consented, Green European Journal, The Fader, and Dazed as well as the ‘Loud Black Girls’ anthology, presented by Slay In Your Lane. Her poetry has been praised for its distinct narrative voice, captivating audiences and critics alike.
Bangura’s transition from prose and poetry to theatre is not new, with her first play, Layila! (2019), being staged at the Birmingham Rep Theatre as part of her residency on the Foundry programme. Swim, Aunty, Swim!, her most ambitious work to date, brings a fresh perspective to British stages and stays true to her mission of centring voices and experiences traditionally marginalised and underrepresented.
The play follows Fatu [Anni Domingo – Mansfield Park, UK Tour and The Watermill Theatre Newbury ] who leaves London to begin a new life in Coventry. There she forms a friendship with fellow members of her new church, Aunty Blessing [Karlina Grace-Paseda – Abel and Cain, Hampstead Theatre & Witness for the Prosecution, London’s County Hall] and Aunty Ama [Coventry-based Evelyn Duah – A New Way to Please You & Believe What You Will, Royal Shakespeare Company] a fiery, entertaining and sharp-witted duo of West African women in their prime, navigating changes and transitions in their own lives.
At Ama’s suggestion, they immerse themselves into a new challenge, which in turn reveals truths about themselves and each other in ways that ultimately test the very foundations of their friendship.
Swim, Aunty, Swim! explores how a simple activity can serve as a powerful metaphor for healing, ritual and rebirth, after a season of grieving.
TEDx speaker, Bangura is not only a creative force in the theatre world but also a committed campaigner, with a multi-hyphenate portfolio of work spanning film, theatre, events, exhibits, and more. Siana is the author of critically acclaimed debut collection, ‘Elephant’, a book of poetry meditating on Black British womanhood and life growing up in London.
On the world premiere of Swim!, she says:
‘I am delighted to finally bring to the stage, ‘Swim, Aunty, Swim!’, a piece of work I’ve been beavering away on since 2018. This play – my second – and largest piece of theatre work to date, tells the story of three West African women in their prime, in a season of change and transition for them all. Guided by their swimming instructor, they learn to swim, and more importantly, harness the healing power of water, channelling our ancestral spiritual connections to the waves. This work is a culmination of my different, and related, artistic practices, as well as my mission as a campaigner and archivist to tell difficult stories and centre the voices and experiences of those who are often marginalised by society. I hope this work is both a celebration of all the ways we find joy amidst our grief, as well as an invitation to look deep inside ourselves and reflect on our place in the world, who our neighbours are, and how we can welcome change and transition over and over again, at whatever age. I’m thrilled ‘Swim!’ is a homegrown piece of work in collaboration with, and produced by Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre and I hope the work has a long life and reaches all those it was written for.’
Swim, Aunty, Swim! is directed by Madeleine Kludje, and produced by The Belgrade in association with the UK’s leading British African heritage contemporary theatre company, tiata fahodzi.
On directing the play, Kludje says:
‘I have been waiting to direct a play that centres older, West African women at the heart of the story and as main characters onstage. This story follows three incredible women on a journey to finding themselves at crucial moments in their lives with swimming and friendship guiding and sometimes pushing them towards healing and rebirth. This is a witty, warming and heartfelt story that we can all relate to about rediscovering who we are after difficult moments within our lives.’
Book your tickets: Belgrade Theatre Coventry
Monday 20 May until Saturday 1 June
National press night on Thursday 23 May.
Tweet: ‘Swim!’ Season Commences for Siana Bangura & team with hotly anticipated play, Swim, Aunty, Swim!
Images for use: Download Rehearsal Images by Nicola Young Photography here
For further information, interviews, and press enquiries, please contact: heya@sianabangura.com
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About the production
A Belgrade Theatre Production in association with tiata fahodzi, Swim, Aunty, Swim! is written by Siana Bangura, directed by Madeleine Kludje, with set design by Claire Winfield, costume design by Naomi Thompson, lighting design by Ryan Joseph Stafford, sound design by Duramaney Kamara, movement direction by Gaby Nimo, dramaturgy by Chinonyerem Odimba, drama therapy by Samantha Adams, and production management by Adrian Sweeney.
About Siana Bangura
Siana Bangura is a writer, producer, performer, campaigner and community organiser hailing from South East London, now living, working, and creating between London and the West Midlands.
She is the founder and former editor of Black British Feminist platform, No Fly on the WALL; author of poetry collection, ‘Elephant’; and the producer of ‘1500 & Counting’, a documentary film investigating deaths in custody and police brutality in the UK and the founder of Courageous Films and Siana Bangura Productions. Siana is also co-founder and co-curator of the Sierra Leone Arts & Culture Festival (SLACfest), founded in 2017.
Siana works and campaigns on issues of race, class, and gender and their intersections and is currently working on projects focusing on climate change, the arms trade, Tech Justice, and state violence. Her recent works include the short film ‘Denim’ and the plays, ‘Layila!’ and ‘Swim, Aunty, Swim!’. She was an artist-in-residence at the Birmingham Rep Theatre throughout 2019, a Jerwood supported artist throughout 2020, and is the co-host of ‘Behind the Curtains’ podcast, produced in partnership with English Touring Theatre (ETT) and host of ‘People Not War’ podcast, produced in partnership with Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), where she was formerly a campaigner and co-ordinator.
With three TED Talks to her name, Siana is also a public speaking trainer, workshop facilitator, and social commentator. Her work has been featured in mainstream and alternative publications such as The Guardian, The Metro, Evening Standard, Black Ballad, Consented, Green European Journal, The Fader, and Dazed as well as the ‘Loud Black Girls’ anthology, presented by Slay In Your Lane. Her past television and radio appearances include the BBC, Channel 4, Sky TV, ITV and Jamelia’s ‘The Table’, as well as headlining BBC’s Contains Strong Language Festival programme across 2021 as part of Coventry City of Culture.
With experience in indie publishing, journalism, and campaigns and comms under her belt, Siana’s mission across her vast portfolio of work is to help move voices and experiences traditionally marginalised, from the margins, to the centre.
More at: @sianaarrgh | www.sianabangura.com | linktr.ee/sianaarrgh