Martin Costello, General Manager of the Broadway Theatre in South London writes: -

Why I Love Blue Mountain.

Twenty years ago, when I was still relatively new to Theatre management, I began to see the early signs of Black theatre emerging in the UK. Often, these plays were thought-provoking protest pieces, almost always they were serious and ‘arty’ in nature. Audiences were small and surveys showed that they were what the arts council would describe as ‘typical theatre goers’, e.g middle class and affluent professionals.

Then things changed – dramatically! Blue Mountain Theatre Company burst onto the scene. ‘We Run Tings’ starring Oliver Samuels came to the Broadway Theatre in 1991 (was it really 15 years ago!) and black audiences poured into our building for the first time en masse. Every year since, Blue Mountain have returned with at least two shows per year, usually playing to packed houses, and always always receiving the loudest and most excitable audience response.

Since 1990, something else has changed. The Broadway Theatre has seen its average attendance from black audiences rise from a paltry 1% of total to now well over 50%. New black producers and promoters compete for dates; the Theatres staff is now predominantly from the afro-caribbean community; our advertising budget is largely spent on black media; and black audiences attend a wide variety of productions, including traditional pantomime, Shakespeare, orchestral concert, opera, ballet and comedy shows. Without Blue Mountain Theatre, this massive cultural shift would have taken many more years to happen –0 in fact, it may not have happened at all.

So I love Blue Mountain. I love that they unashamedly go out to entertain their audiences – not preach to them. I love that they have encouraged new writers, directors and promoters to follow in their footsteps. And I love it that their audiences return to our Theatre throughout the year to see hundreds of other shows.

Enjoy the show tonight. Thank you Blue Mountain for your massive contribution to the Theatre world. You run tings!!

Martin Costello