The Big Life was also the first West End musical about black British lives – and another first will come later this month with Death of England, a play Dyer co-wrote with Roy Williams and directed. These are landmarks not only for Dyer but also for British theatre. It’s easy to forget the lack of black British writers at the time I was starting out who had the same experience of England as I did. In fact, he says, Death of England is as much about class as it is about race. This is why we are where we are now.”• Death of England runs at the National Theatre, London, from 31 January.

Source: The Guardian January 15, 2020 15:00 UTC