Talawa Theatre Company has announced the cast and programme for Talawa Iconic, a special event marking its 40th anniversary. The celebration will take place at Hackney Empire on 13 October 2026, featuring excerpts from landmark productions and performances by leading Black British actors.

Talawa Iconic is set to bring together a stellar line-up of actors and highlights from four decades of the company’s work. The event kicks off with a black carpet at 6pm, followed by the showcase at 7pm on 13 October 2026 at Hackney Empire.

Excerpts will include productions spanning from Talawa’s inaugural 1986 staging of The Black Jacobins, through to recent works such as Recognition (2023), Play On! (2025), and Fragments of Us (2026). Other selections include The Importance of Being Earnest (1989), Antony & Cleopatra (1991), King Lear (2015), Theresa Ikoko’s Girls (2016), Run It Back (2019), and A Place for We (2021).

Olivier Award-nominated actor Josette Bushell-Mingo, who is also a trustee of Hackney Empire, will open the evening with a speech. Tameka Empson returns alongside longtime Talawa collaborator Ben Thomas for an excerpt from The Importance of Being Earnest, while Theresa Ikoko will perform a section of Girls. Ikoko’s play was originally supported through Talawa’s Talawa Firsts programme before receiving production and winning the Alfred Fagon Award.

Original cast member David Webber will appear with Laurence Ubong Williams in an excerpt from A Place for We, and returning cast member Lifford Shillingford will perform from Play On! Doña Croll is set to reprise her role as Cleopatra in Antony & Cleopatra, a production that in 1991 marked her as the first Black actor to play Cleopatra professionally on the British stage.

Founded in 1986 by Yvonne Brewster, Mona Hammond, Carmen Munroe, and Inigo Espejel, Talawa was established to address the scarcity of opportunities for Black actors in British theatre. Since then, it has nurtured generations of Black British theatre artists.

Artistic director Michael Buffong said the event will “display the breadth and depth of talent and stories we have collaborated on over the years” and described it as “a real joy and privilege” to assemble such a remarkable cast.

Tickets for Talawa Iconic are priced at £40, with £20 concessions for under-25s and residents of Hackney and Croydon. Music for the evening will be provided by the Chineke! Quartet.