ABSTRACT
The chapter opens with a brief contextualisation on the use of the term Black as political coalition in the UK to help readers understand the position of this author in relation to the use of the term Black in capital letters throughout the manuscript. It then offers a brief historical overview of the development of Black theatre in the UK. While the book takes a contemporary approach and there are other volumes available that provide a more in-depth historical approach to Black British theatre, this historical overview serves to trace the development of themes addressed by the earlier generation of women playwrights, and it equally highlights the central role of Black women in the development of contemporary Black British theatre. This brief historical overview also aims to identify and trace the evolution of the thematic and aesthetic trends of the companies, thus supporting the thematic shift that can be observed at the turn of the twenty-first century upon which this book draws on. The second half of the introduction situates this research within the broader field of Black British theatre by offering a literature review of the existing scholarship and offers a map of the structure of the chapters.
