Directed by Bijan Sheibani and designed by Rae Smith, Barber Shop Chronicles is a heart warming, hilarious and insightful new play that leaps from a barber shop in Peckham to Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos, and Accra over the course of a single day.
Maynard Eziashi, Mohammed Mansaray, Anthony Ofoegbu, Jo Servi and David Webber return to the production, with Michael Balogun, Tobi Bamtefa, Adé Dee Haastrup, Emmanuel Ighodaro, Demmy Ladipo, Rudolphe Mdlongwa, and Elander Moore completing the cast.
Michael Balogun
Winston/Shoni
Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Whilst training he performed in Scuttlers, A Winter’s Tale, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Summerfolk, Off the Ends, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Man of Mode, Red Velvet, The Theban Plays, King Lear, All my Sons, and the Strange Orchestra (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts)
His theatre credits include Macbeth (Royal National Theatre), People, Places and Things (UK Tour 2017) and The Dark (Fuel UK Tour 2018/9).
Tobi Bamtafa
Kwame/Fabrice/Brian
Tobi is an actor, poet and writer. His theatre credits include Network (Royal National Theatre), Sweet Taboo (Talawa Theatre Company), and Step (Young Actors Company of Stratford East).
Maynard Eziashi
Musa/Andile/Mensah
Maynard is the winner of the Silver Bear Award for Best Actor at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival in 1991 for Mister Johnson, starring alongside Pierce Brosnan.
His theatre credits include The Strange Death of John Doe (Hampstead Theatre) The Dead Wait (Park Theatre), Wedlock of the Gods (Cochrane Theatre), Faith V Reason (Bush Theatre), A Winter’s Tale, Pericles (Royal Shakespeare Company), Guess Who’s Coming For Dinner (St Andrews Lane, Dublin), A Jamaican Airmen Foresees His Death (Royal Court) and A Respectable Wedding (Almeida Theatre).
Ade Dee Haastrup
Olowale/Wole/Kwabena/Simon
Ade trained at the East 15 Acting School. Whilst training Ade performed in Blue/Orange, 13, The Winter’s Tale, Measure for Measure, The Cherry Orchard, The Notebook of Trigorn, Good, Aalst, Cagebirds and Wealth.
Emmanuel Ighodaro
Tokunbo/Paul/Simphiwe
Emmanuel is an actor and producer. His stage credits include Barber Shop Chronicles (National Theatre/Leeds Playhouse & Fuel Theatre), Zara (George Costigan), After the Accident (Theatre West), God in Ruins, Macbeth (Royal Shakespeare Company), Blue/Orange (The Abbey theatre Dublin), Who Killed Mr Drum (Riverside Studios), Company of Angels (Arcola Theatre), Robin Hood (Southampton Nuffield), Duchess of Malfi (New Vic Theatre)
Demmy Ladipo
Wallace/Timothy/Mohammed/Tinashe
Demmy trained at the Identity Drama School. Recent film credits include The Last Tree (Prodigal Films & The BFI), and the short film Snapped! (Bee Agbaje).
His recent television credits include playing the role of Aneil in the BBC 3 drama series Enterprice (BBC). His recent theatre credits include Hurly Burly (Identity), Pornography (Identity), and Closer (Identity). Ladipo has also starred in the web series A Dozen Worst Dates (Jee Mun) and Trylife (Nice Guy Eddie).
Mohammad Mansaray
Samuel
Theatre credits include One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Sheffield Crucible), lead roles in Mrs Dalloway, Jekyll & Hyde and Othello for the National Youth Theatre’s Rep West End Season (National Youth Theatre). He also performed in Oliver! (Theatre Royal Drury Lane) and Daddy Cool (Shaftesbury Theatre, World Tour).
Rudolphe Mdlongwa
Tanaka/Fifi
Trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Whilst training he performed in Julius Caesar, Our Town, The Aliens, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Days of Significance, Love and Information, The School for Scandal, The Vortex, Twelfth Night, The Laramie Project and Treasure Island (Bristol Old Vic Theatre School).
Rudolphe’s recent theatre credits include The Convert (Young Vic), No One is Coming to Save You (Pleasance Theatre) and The Ruff Guide to Shakespeare (Take Thou That).
Elander Moore
Ethan
Trained at the Urdang Company. Elander’s theatre credits include The Watsons (Chichester Festival Theatres), The Rink (Southwark Playhouse) and The Goat, or who is Sylvia? (Theatre Royal Haymarket).
Anthony Ofoegbu
Emmanuel
Theatre credits include Barber Shop Chronicles (USA Tour), Circle Mirror Transformation (HOME, Manchester), Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, Antony & Cleopatra (Royal Shakespeare Company Rome Season, 2017-2018), My Children, My Africa (Trafalgar Studios- Anthony was OFFIE nominated for Best Actor in 2015), Twelfth Night (Nottingham Playhouse), Death and the King’s Horseman (Royal National Theatre), Oedipus (Steven Berkoff, Spoleto Festival, South Carolina), Treemonisha (Hackney Empire/Battersea Arts Centre), and The Beatification of Area Boy (World Tour/West Yorkshire Playhouse).
Jo Servi
Elnathan/Ensemble
Trained at Laine Theatre Arts. Jo’s theatre credits include Barbershop Chronicles (USA Tour), Chess, (London Coliseum), The Life (Southwark Playhouse), Dirty Dancing (U.K./ European Tour), The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Regent’s Park), Jersey Boys (Prince Edward Theatre) and Disney’s The Lion King original London cast (Lyceum Theatre).
David Webber
Abram/Ohene/Sizwe
Trained at Rose Bruford College. David’s theatre credits include Barber Shop Chronicles (National Theatre/Leeds Playhouse & Fuel Theatre), Arms And The Man (Watford Palace Theatre), The Hudsucker Proxy (Liverpool Playhouse & Nuffield Theatre, Southampton), When Blair Had Bush And Bunga (Lee Menzies Productions at Edinburgh Festival) and Catch-22 (Northern Stage & UK Tour).
Barber Shop Chronicles
Royal Exchange Theatre
Thu 7 – Sat 23 Mar
BOOK
Presented by Contact and Royal Exchange.
Written by Inua Ellams.
Directed by Olivier award-winning director Bijan Sheibani.
Designed by Rae Smith (War Horse).
Co-commissioned by Fuel and the National Theatre.
Development funded by Arts Council England with the support of Fuel, National Theatre, Leeds Playhouse, The Binks Trust, British Council ZA, Òran Mór and A Play, a Pie and a Pint.
