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Lyric Hammersmith Theatre presents

The High Table

As part of For The Culture: Celebrations of Blackness Festival
30 Jan, 3.30pm
Tickets
Free
Running time
140 minutes
Venue
Studio
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A rehearsed reading of an epic family drama played out between the heavens and the earth.

Festival co-curator Tinuke Craig directs a rehearsed reading of Temi Wilkey’s debut play The High Table.

The dresses are chosen, the venue’s been booked and the RSVPs are flooding in. But with her wedding to Leah drawing nearer, Tara’s future is thrown into jeopardy when her Nigerian parents refuse to attend. This kind of love is unheard of, they say. It’s not African. High above London, suspended between the stars, three of Tara’s ancestors are jolted from their eternal rest. Stubborn and opinionated, they keep watch as family secrets are spilled and the rift widens between Tara and her parents. Can these representatives of generations past keep the family together? And will Tara’s decision ever get their blessing?

Admission is free, tickets must be booked in advance.

Temi Wilkey is an actor & writer from North London. She studied English at Cambridge before training with the National Youth Theatre REP company in 2014. Her theatre credits include the National, the RSC and the Manchester Royal Exchange. Temi was a member of the Royal Court’s Young Writers Group in 2017 and wrote her debut play, The High Table, at the course’s culmination. It was produced at the Bush Theatre and won Temi the Stage Debut Award for Best Writer in 2020.
Tinuke Craig trained as a director at LAMDA. She was the Gate’s Associate Director 2015-2016 and in 2014 received the Genesis Future Director Award. She is an Artistic Associate at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, and an Associate at the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain.