Black theatre and Black film collide....

            From FLY! Intersections March 2021 

     We featured Rafiqi directed by Wanuri Kahiu

Circumstances combined in late 2017 for a new Black theatre company to come into being in Bristol . A group of us had grown weary of the stories  and preoccupations which tend to populate Black History Month. We  wanted to think about other stories of people of Afrikan origin that never get shared, never get told. We wanted to reach further back, tune into  ancient Afrikan  stories,  and focus on our greatness; explore stories of the incredible achievements of Afrikan people. And so we put a call out… and eight people answered… and we started rehearsing, decided on a devised piece which would tell the story of Makeda, Queen of Sheba.A piece that would honour Afrikan theatre, would combine strong roles for the narrator, fusing music, dance, song,  poetry and interweaving shreds of  improvisaton into the whole.   So it made perfect sense...  to call ourselves after Makeda  - a woman who achieved incredible things.

So Sheba Soul Ensemble was born.