The Project
The inspiration behind the musical and our plans for the future
How did the project start?
The Bristol Bus Boycott is a pivotal event in the UK’s civil rights journey. In recent years and months, the Windrush Scandal, the controversial hostile environment policy, and daily incidents of injustice, harm and violence borne of systemic racism has brought the Black Lives Matter movement to the forefront of public consciousness and national activism with major protests taking place in cities across the UK. Energised by a younger generation, urgent and lasting change feels both possible and imminent. By reimagining this story of positive and effective social disruption through the lens of the present moment, we aim to celebrate how direct action can and does bring about lasting social change.
In June 2020 a statue of 19th Century Slave Trader Edward Colston was toppled in Bristol. Many activists have since called for it to be replaced with the figure of Paul Stephenson. The ripples of the Boycott movement are still being felt today and act as a powerful symbol of Black British Excellence and the strength of positive disruption. It feels more vital than ever that the stories of those who laid the groundwork for change are told, to bolster and contextualise the continued call for fairness and equality.
Based on an original idea by Christopher Haydon, before being known as To The Streets! the musical went through a period of early development under the working title ‘Bus Boycott’ funded by a China Plate and Warwick Arts Centre Triggered@Warwick Commission. During this time, the creative team took several research trips to Bristol, including a visit to the Bristol Archives, conversations with historians, activists and veterans of the boycott, as well as meeting with elders at the Malcolm X Community Centre. Here they met Roy Hackett – a leading figure behind the Bristol Bus Boycott and Joyce Morris-Wisdom – who joined the protest as a teenager; both of whom have been a huge inspiration for Roy Williams (Book) and Tim Sutton (Music & Lyrics), throughout the writing process.
How has the project developed?
Following this initial period of development, Birmingham Hippodrome came on board as co-producers and together with China Plate began conversations with the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games about showcasing ‘Bus Boycott’ as part of the Games’ Cultural Programme. Funding from Birmingham City Council, Without Walls and Arts Council England enabled feasibility work and further creative development that resulted in a commission from the Games’ for the musical and a suite of sister projects co-created by Birmingham-based artists and communities in Handsworth and Ladywood.
In the Summer of 2021, China Plate and Birmingham Hippodrome hosted the Bus Boycott Block Party as part of a co-curated events programme – led by our Associate Producers Aksana Khan and Diandra McCalla – to celebrate North Birmingham’s reputation of intergenerational activism. Held at Soho House in Handsworth, the party provided a live preview of the first songs from the musical and showcased the talent of our commissioned Birmingham Creative Programme Artists (Jane Thakoordin, Nilupa Yasmin, Black Heritage Walks Network and Overhear).
Following the block party, in September 2021, ‘Bus Boycott’ was one of 38 new musicals in development chosen to be presented at BEAM – the UK’s biggest showcase of new musical theatre. The showcase returned as a new live and digital all-day event, after it was postponed in 2020.
Workshops focused on developing the script and the choreography for the show took place at the beginning of 2022, followed by the confirmation of three sites in Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton that would give us an opportunity to share the first outing of the show, now called To The Streets! with audiences as part of a festival experience in outdoor settings.
As part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival, 8 outdoor performances of To The Streets! took place across Handsworth Park in Birmingham, Windmill Hill (Warwick Arts Centre) in Coventry and West Park in Wolverhampton. Audiences were able to hear all the songs from the musical for the very first time and see them come to life with soul-shaking choreography.
What are our future plans?
China Plate are developing the To The Streets! with a view to producing a full stage version of the musical in 2026.
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Photos © Ahsen Sayeed, David Ovenden & Tim Sutton