What do the characters on our screens and stages reveal about masculinity today? How do cultural narratives shape and challenge ideas of boyhood and manhood? And what stories should be told next?

Join leading researchers and creatives for a richly illustrated discussion on the theme of masculinity in film, television and theatre.

Drawing on vivid examples and clips, film historian Professor Stella Bruzzi FBA, award-winning playwright Inua Ellams, and British Academy-funded researcher Dr Rob Lawson will examine different portrayals of masculinity, how cultural representations have evolved over time and what stories we need to tell to help boys and men flourish in a changing world.

Thu / 16 Apr 2026
Time / 18:30 - 19:45
Tix / Free
Book / Here

The British Academy
0-11 Carlton House Terrace
London / SW1Y 5AH

Search Party Is Back! I’m taking the award-wining, chaotic, audience-led poetry event to Lyra Festival.

Pick a word, any word. Prompted by audience suggestions, I will search through my extensive archive of work and perform a reactive and spontaneous selection. Each show is unique and special.

Sun / 19 April 2026
The Arnolfini Theatre
Time / 13:00 - 14:00
Tix / £8 / £10 / £5
Book / Here

A VERY special edition of this show. Littered with poems, stories and anecdotes, An Evening with an Immigrant tells my ridiculous, fantastic and poignant immigrant-story.

The show had a sell-out five-star (What’s on Stage) run at Bridge Theatre.

See it now with a new soundtrack by Ivor Novello-winning-artist Laura Mvula, commissioned and created especially for our Multitudes festival and performed live by Chineke! Orchestra, one of South Bank Centre’s six Resident Orchestras.

I’m gonna tell of escaping fundamentalist Islam, performing solo shows at the National Theatre and drinking wine with the Queen of England, all the while without a country to belong to or place to call home. My words will be soundtracked by Laura’s score, transporting audiences on a journey around and out of this world.

Sun 26 Apr 2026 / 7.30pm
Southbank Centre
Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX
Tix / From £17 + £3.50 booking fee.
Book here

This has been quite a few years in the making, but it is finally here…

Written by Inua Ellams 

Directed by Ola Ince

"There are powers that bind the world together, softer than spirits yet stronger than stone, that tie the river to the tree, the tree to rain clouds, rain clouds to the land, and people to each other." 

The award-winning Once Upon a Time in Sokoto tells the epic story of a beautiful but unlikely friendship forged between a slave and her former master. Differences in faith, culture and heritage are overcome in the face of new enemies, in a gripping family drama set against the backdrop of events leading to the creation of Nigeria. 

Winner of the 2024 Alfred Fagon Award for Once Upon a Time in Sokoto, Nigeria-born Inua Ellams is an internationally celebrated poet, playwright and artist. He has published four poetry collections and his plays include the hugely popular and critically acclaimed Barber Shop Chronicles (Fuel/National Theatre, UK and international tour) and the award-winning The 14th Tale (Fuel/UK tour). 



Once Upon a Time in Sokoto is presented in association with Touring Together - a new national programme bringing bold stories that shine a fresh light on the world we live in today to audiences across the country. Touring Together is a China Plate and Fuel initiative in collaboration with Brighton Dome, Leeds Playhouse, Oxford Playhouse, Royal & Derngate, Northampton and Warwick Arts Centre, generously supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. 



- Royal & Derngate, Northampton - 28 September - 10 October 2026 
- Oxford Playhouse - 13-17 October 2026 
- Nottingham Playhouse - 29-31 October 2026  
- Warwick Arts Centre - 5-7 November 2026 
- Leeds Playhouse - 11-14 November 2026 
- Brighton Dome - 17-21 November 2026 
- Bristol Old Vic - 2-13 February 2027