Theatre artist Apphia Campbell will be performing her award-winning show, Black Is The Color Of My Voice, at Shoreditch Town Hall this week. Campbell’s show follows the life of legendary jazz artist and prominent civil rights activist Nina Simone.
It marks the venue’s comeback to in-person events, says Head of Cultural Programming Ellie Browning, with an aim to appeal to a young and diverse borough: “It is a town hall historically, so it’s a space that is for the people.”
Campbell first fell in love with Simone’s voice during university, particularly her rendition of a Scottish folk song, Black Is the Color (of My True Love’s Hair). “I wondered where all that pain came from”, says Campbell. She wrote the show in 2012 and has performed it across the globe.
Despite all that time, her vision for the performance and the workshop hasn’t changed much. Sometimes, she wishes that she had named the show — which she lovingly refers to as “Black” — after Simone’s quote that “Freedom is no fear”. Still, however, she wants people to feel “deeply moved” and, perhaps more importantly, to “truly listen”.
Black Is The Color Of My Voice has been on each night this week and is showing until Saturday, 30 October. On Thursday, it will be accompanied by the workshop “Make Your Own Solo Work”, where attendees can learn from Campbell herself the various techniques she uses to create her world-renowned performances.
Tickets for the performance and workshop can be bought here.
