The hidden Black history of the pioneers who brought jazz from America to the UK via Liverpool. This world premiere will open at Liverpool Playhouse on 23 September before transferring to Croydon.<\/p>\n
Talawa Theatre Company is an Associate Company of Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, working together to produce local stories with national reach and introduce audiences to new ways of storytelling. <\/p>\n
\u202fSyncopated \u202ftells the story of Him, a music student from London, and Her, a young Liverpudlian discovering each other beneath the shadow of the city and unearthing the hidden Black history of the Southern Syncopated Orchestra, the original jazz pioneers.\u202fAs the couple connect, they begin to sense history\u2019s echoes when two figures from the past lead them on a journey of personal discovery \u2013 a trip into the revolutionary Black sound that took the world, and their own lives, by storm.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Love stories can happen anywhere. In the present or the past, in the head or the heart. Could this be the start of something new, or are they stuck repeating another love story from a hundred years earlier?\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Varaidzo\u202f is a writer, editor and artist. Previous writing credits include:\u202f Bus Stop \u202f(2018, shortlisted for The Guardian and 4th Estate 4th Write Prize);\u202f The Good Immigrant\u202f (2016);\u202f Who\u2019s Loving You\u202f (2021) and\u202f Manny and the Baby\u202f (2024), which was shortlisted for The Jhalak Prose Prize in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Directed by Manchester-based \u202fTian Glasgow \u202f(STUN x Lowry Associate Artist award-winner for\u202fTomorrow is Not Promised;\u202fThreshold, Royal Exchange Theatre),\u202f Syncopated \u202fweaves past and present, real and imagined, love and legacy to honour a lost history and a living present.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Michael Buffong<\/strong>, Artistic Director of Talawa said:<\/p>\n \u201cTalawa\u2019s Black Joy season has been one of the most ambitious and successful endeavours in our nearly 40-year history. Bringing the season to a close with the highly anticipated studio show Syncopated is a full circle moment, nurturing new work rooted in Liverpool\u2019s musical culture and history.<\/p>\n It is an honour to have the opportunity to collaborate with Varaidzo and the team at Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse to do what we do best: shine a light on the prodigious talents of Black and global majority creatives.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Nathan Powell<\/strong>, Creative Director of Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse Theatres said:<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re so happy to continue our partnership with Talawa, one of our Associate Companies, during their Black Joy Season. Realising this new show, opening here in Liverpool, is a joy of its very own. We can\u2019t wait to share Varaidzo\u2019s brilliant story and for it to be enjoyed by audiences in our great cities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n This world premiere offers music and storytelling as redemptive, healing and a connecting bridge across generations. Syncopated runs at the Playhouse Studio from Tuesday 23 September to Saturday 4 October. <\/p>\n Tickets are \u00a312.50 and available on the Liverpool Playhouse Theatre website<\/a>. Find out what\u2019s good up North on our new platform, The Northern Guide.<\/strong>\u00a0
\nFind more theatre events across Liverpool here<\/a>. <\/p>\n
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