All of us at the Alfred Fagon Award were deeply saddened to hear about the attack on the bust of Alfred Fagon carried out earlier this week.  It is an unfortunate reminder that there is still much work to do in order to repair the deep wounds of discrimination and inequality in the UK and beyond.

The Alfred Fagon Award exists to amplify and provide a platform for brilliant Black British writers of African and Caribbean heritage and to champion the stories they want to tell.  These stories often reflect a reality and provide a window into truths that have either been suppressed or re-written for the benefit of a particular point of view.  The plays to which the Award gives prominence provide hope for a future that values the talent and contribution of artists from across the African and Caribbean diaspora in the UK.

Past winners have included Winsome Pinnock’s ‘Rockets and Blue Lights’ (a reading of which is to be broadcast as part of the Lockdown Theatre Festival on BBC Radio 3 on Saturday 13 June at 8pm BST), Theresa Ikoko’s ‘Girls’ and Michaela Coel’s ‘Chewing Gum Dreams’.

2020 is the 24th year of the Alfred Fagon Award, which awards £6,000 to the winner for Best New Play of the year.

It has always been an avenue of hope for ourselves and future generations – to educate and celebrate.  It enables our community to shine a well-deserved spotlight on the incredible talent of extraordinary Black British writers.

We will continue to do that, in the name of creating a kinder, richer future for the ecology of British theatre.

– from all at the Alfred Fagon Award.