Theatre
‘JC Niala’s playwriting comes from the heart, tackling deep and challenging subjects with an admirable deftness and lightness of touch. I worked with her to develop her play ‘Out of Bounds’ which examines shame, secrets and the intersection of class and race through a double love story. JC’s amazing breadth of knowledge of the world through life and study is brought to bear on this fascinating play.’
-Claire Bayley The Container, 2007 (winner of a Fringe First and the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award), The Enchantment, 2007 (National Theatre).
Photo Credit: ‘Life in a Goldfish Bowl’
A selection of JC Niala’s recent work
Dive into JC Niala’s world of creativity, empathy, and social impact; her work is not just entertainment but a powerful conversation starter on pressing issues.
‘Life in a Goldfish Bowl’
Liverpool Everyman Playhouse
Produced by Tamasha, 2023
By the end of the century – about 1 in 3 people in the U.K. will be mixed-race. Have you ever thought about what their parents’ experiences were? What about those of their grandparents? What were the stories of mixed relationships from the 1940s to the 1980s? How did the BBC feature them? LIFE IN A GOLDFISH BOWL is an artistic response to the BBC archives from this era. As part of the BBC cultural revolution project (which reassesses the BBC and social change), LIFE IN A GOLDFISH BOWL is an interactive mixed-media installation fusing audio-dramas, video and texts to invite you to consider what could be our future by experiencing the complexities of our past. This installation was exhibited within the Liverpool Everyman Playhouse in 2023. It was one of several projects marking the BBC’s 100th birthday, funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council, exploring the BBC’s relationship with British culture and society.
‘Out of Bounds’
Arcola Theatre
Produced by Katharine Farmer, The Playwrights Laboratory, 2023
A play about two lovers, Felicity and Rose, who are forced to navigate the cultural and class differences that they face in the nineties and noughties, against a backdrop of their family secrets and lies, to discover if they can truly be surmounted.
Winner Nancy Dean Prize, 2021
‘Unsettled’
Published in ‘Contemporary Plays by African Women’
Available as a resource in ‘Performing International Plays’
Shortlisted for several awards including the Alfred Fagon Award in 2020 ‘Unsettled’ deals with gender violence, land issues and relations of both black and white Kenyans living in, and returning to, the country.
About JC Niala’s Theatre Writing
JC Niala’s work demonstrates a focus on character development and interpersonal dynamics. She engages with social and political issues, especially related to gender and colonial legacies, showing a passion for using theatre as a medium to address pressing societal problems and promote awareness and change.
JC is inclined towards narratives that challenge norms and explore human connection across boundaries. She has works that delve into historical events and the human experiences within them due to her interest in exploring the past and its impact on individuals. Being a historian, JC enjoys researching and representing specific time periods authentically.
JC is a socially conscious and versatile theatre maker who whether writing or directing loves to collaborate. She is unafraid to tackle complex topics such as societal divisions, violence against women and girls, same-sex relationships, and historical events.
JC is excited by African theatre, devised work and Shakespeare. In 2022 she was awarded a Develop Your Creative Practice grant by Arts Council England for her project ‘Shakespeare in Swahili’.