Join us at East London’s iconic Rich Mix for Afro Futures Festival

A multi-cultural performing arts festival, Afro Futures’ bold programme reflects on what it means to be British today. Featuring dance, theatre, cabaret, music and spoken word, Afro Futures presents work developed within a changing cultural climate when questions are being asked about British Culture and what this signifies.

The festival gathers an artist line-up highlighting different backgrounds and disciplines.Music comes courtesy of Sean Khan and The Modern Jazz and Folk Ensemble, with special guests and icons Jacqui McShee and Rosie Frater-Taylor, exploring the traditional and the new in a cross-cultural retake of modern folk music. Brownie Club meets The Cocoa Butter Club bring a late-night cabaret extravaganza featuring two audacious clubs to celebrate performers of colour and challenge notions behind brown bodies.

Renowned spoken word artist Oneness Sankara presents T21 ALCHEMY, a raw and unfiltered work-in-progress piece that looks at Black motherhood and explores becoming a mother to a child with special needs. Best Friends by Crying in the Wilderness Productions balances humour and sensitivity in a poignant new theatre piece by an award-winning cast; combining staged reading and live performance, the show delves into the subject of friendship and assisted death.

The festival ends with Sonia Sabri Company’s Roshni, a feast of Kathak dance and live percussive rhythms from global music styles that celebrate the ups and downs of daily life. The festival marks a milestone for Certain Blacks, aligning with the company’s 10th anniversary.