logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2020
12m 59s

The Healing Power of Black Theatre

SPOTIFY STUDIOS
About this episode

Sarah Bellamy is the Artistic Director of the Penumbra Theatre Company in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her father, Lou Bellamy, started the Company back in 1976, as a place to create drama by, for, and about Black people. That mission has continued under Sarah’s leadership, gaining a new sense of urgency in the Twin Cities since the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Sarah speaks about the history of Penumbra, its place in the community, and what she sees as the theatre of the future.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Jun 2020
The Joys & Challenges of Black Fatherhood
Glen Henry loves everything about being a Black dad – and he’s eager to show others why. On his YouTube channel, Beleaf in Fatherhood, he turns the stuff of everyday life in the Henry household – with his wife, Yvette, and their four kids – into artful, loving, and insightful vid ... Show More
17m 32s
Jun 2020
This Time is Different
As protests continue across the country, we hear from two leading activists about why they think this moment is different. Social justice leader Tamika D. Mallory calls it a collision of multiple pandemics. She has been traveling the country speaking with victims’ families and sp ... Show More
12m 17s
Jun 2020
No Room For Error
While the pandemic continues, we’re now in the middle of another national crisis. The killing of George Floyd at the hands of police set off a new wave of protests against police violence and racism. In the midst of this moment, Black people are speaking up and out, and sharing t ... Show More
19m 1s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2021
New Thinking: Black British Theatre. An Afro-Cuban star
Who complained about Olivier's Othello? Stephen Bourne has been mining the archives to find out who raised questions about Laurence Olivier's blacked up performance in 1964. It's one of the stories he tells in his new book, which also includes memories of meeting performers inclu ... Show More
43m 16s
Nov 2023
Maria Bamford on the Lucrative Nature of Oversharing
Maria Bamford is a comedian and actress who you may know from her standup specials, her Netflix show Lady Dynamite, or her 2020 interview with Anna on our show. She’s just released a book called, Sure I’ll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywher ... Show More
42m 41s
Sep 2023
Lucy Prebble
Renowned for tackling big themes on stage, Lucy Prebble made her name as a playwright in her mid-twenties when she wrote the hugely successful Enron. The play, which premiered in 2009 and explored the collapse of the American energy corporation eight years earlier, transferred to ... Show More
44m 40s
Dec 2020
George C. Wolfe on His New Film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
This week, Rumaan Alam talks with George C. Wolfe. Wolfe is a playwright, film director, and two-time Tony winner. His latest project, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, takes place in a single day of 1927, when trailblazing blues singer Ma Rainey and her band gather at a recording studio ... Show More
1h 1m
Apr 2023
Arsema Thomas on Filming the 'Bridgerton' Spin-Off in English Country Homes and Traveling Across Africa
Lale chats with actor Arsema Thomas, who plays a young Lady Danbury in the soon to be released Netflix series Queen Charlotte - A Bridgerton Story, from Shonda Rhimes. Off screen, Arsema has spent large swathes of her life living in different countries across Africa—an experience ... Show More
28m 14s
Jun 2020
Austin Channing Brown | I'm Still Here
Austin Channing Brown is a writer, speaker and media producer providing inspired leadership on racial justice. She is the author of I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness (https://amzn.to/2X8qyEc) and the Executive Producer of The Next Question: A Web Series ... Show More
1h 8m
Jan 2022
Weekend Woman's Hour: Putting your life on the page, Dr Lin Berwick, Poorna Bell
We explore why so many of us want to put our lives on the page. Can writing stand in for therapy? What are the ethical and moral considerations of such sharing. Julia Samuel is a psychotherapist and the author of Grief Works.Dr Lin Berwick MBE has cerebral palsy quadriplegia and ... Show More
48m 56s
Feb 2023
In the Name of Love: Stories about the romantic side of science
While it might not have been until the 1940s that social scientists came up with tools to measure love, it is a lot more scientific than you might think. In this week’s episode, both our storytellers look at their relationships through a scientific lens. Part 1: Lauren Silverman ... Show More
27m 37s
Apr 2023
Actor Helen George, 'Stevenage Woman', Author Diana Evans
She is best known for her role as the Poplar-based midwife Trixie Franklin, in Call the Midwife. Helen George has also been a star of Strictly Come Dancing, sung with Elton John and at Buckingham Palace to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day. She now brings all her theatrical ski ... Show More
56m 48s