In a career spanning 20 years, Zindzi Okenyo is finally preparing for a milestone: her fourth main-stage role playing a Black woman, per theguardian.com. When she takes the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) stage this June in John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt, it marks a rare moment of visibility in an industry she is now transforming from the director’s chair.
Since 2021, African diaspora theatre has transitioned from the fringes to Australia’s most prestigious venues. Leading this charge is Okenyo, whose production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Purpose opens at STC next week with an entirely Black cast. For Okenyo, born to a Kenyan father and white mother, the shift is personal. “I haven’t had the opportunity, as an actor, to be in the rooms that I create,” she says. “As a director, it’s about creating a dream space for these actors.”
The momentum began in 2021 with the smash hit seven methods of killing kylie jenner. Co-directed by Okenyo and Shari Sebbens, the low-budget production sold out in Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, attracting high-profile fans like Taika Waititi. Crucially, the play drew a young, BIPOC-heavy audience. “We didn’t make it for a white audience,” Okenyo notes. “We made it for our community, and everybody else was welcome.”
This cultural shift aligns with global movements. Following the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, Australian theatre companies began programming works by Black playwrights like Lynn Nottage and August Wilson. The 2021 Australian premiere of Hamilton, featuring a predominantly BIPOC cast, further proved the commercial and critical appetite for diverse storytelling.
Local talent is also rising. Playwright Kirsty Marillier, whose South African-inspired play Destiny premiered at Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC) last year, recalls a time when she was the “only person of colour in the room.” Now, she is mentoring the next generation. “I met a young woman who used a monologue from my play for her audition,” Marillier says. “I told her, ‘When you graduate, I’ll help you make the plan.'”
With Okenyo directing main-stage works annually and companies like Green Door Theatre Company fostering new voices, what began as a moment has become a movement. As Okenyo puts it, the goal is simple: to showcase the “multitude of skill and artistry from Black artists.”
•Featured image: Zindzi Okenyo/Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian
