Black theatre in Australia is no longer on the sidelines—it’s taking center stage, and it’s about time. But here’s where it gets controversial: this movement isn’t just about representation; it’s a deliberate shift to create art for the Black community, by the Black community. And not everyone is ready for that conversation.
When Zindzi Okenyo steps onto the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) stage in June to perform in John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt—a role famously portrayed by Viola Davis in the film—it will mark a rare milestone in her 20-year career: her fourth lead role as a Black woman. ‘I’m genuinely thrilled,’ she shares. ‘It’s been far too long since I’ve had a role that truly reflects who I am.’
For the past five years, Okenyo has been working behind the scenes, not as an actor, but as a director, championing safer spaces and more opportunities for Black performers. When we met in mid-January, she was deep in rehearsals for her production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Pulitzer and Tony-winning dramedy Purpose, a story of a dysfunctional Black family where secrets and tensions collide over the dinner table. The play, opening at STC with an all-Black cast, is more than just a career highlight for Okenyo—it’s a statement. ‘I wanted the Australian theatre industry to witness the sheer talent, presence, and artistry of Black performers,’ she explains. ‘This is their moment to shine.’
But this moment didn’t happen overnight. And this is the part most people miss: the explosion of African diaspora theatre in Australia over the past five years has been fueled by a perfect storm of factors—the global reckoning of Black Lives Matter, the pandemic, and a new wave of African diaspora and First Nations theatre-makers demanding to be heard. Okenyo has been at the forefront of this revolution.
In 2021, she co-directed a low-budget, high-impact production of Jasmine Lee-Jones’ seven methods of killing kylie jenner with Shari Sebbens. Staged in a small Sydney theatre with an all-women-of-colour team, the show became a phenomenon. It sold out, attracted stars like Taika Waititi, and toured Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. ‘It was electric,’ Okenyo recalls. ‘The energy in the room was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.’
What made this production different? ‘We didn’t make it for a white audience,’ Okenyo asserts boldly. ‘We made it for us, for our community. And everyone was welcome.’ This shift in perspective—creating art for the Black community first—is both radical and, to some, divisive. Is theatre meant to be exclusive? Or is this a necessary correction to decades of marginalization? These are questions worth debating.
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. As the U.S. and U.K. saw a surge in Black playwrights responding to the racial justice movement, Australia began confronting its own colonial history, both on and off stage. Productions like Hamilton, with its nearly all-BIPOC cast, premiered in 2021, while companies like STC and Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC) began programming works by Black playwrights such as Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, and August Wilson. This year, MTC will stage Ryan Calais Cameron’s Retrograde, directed by Bert LaBonté, further cementing this shift.
For Okenyo, the rise has been meteoric. Within two years of her directorial debut, she was co-directing Aleshea Harris’ Is God Is for MTC and STC, a play she describes as ‘historically groundbreaking for main stages.’ Since then, she’s directed a major production every year, while smaller stages have amplified international hits by the likes of Michaela Coel and Tarell Alvin McCraney.
Green Door Theatre Company, which produced seven methods, has been instrumental in this movement. Producer Leila Enright credits their community engagement strategy, led by diaspora creatives, for turning a moment into a movement. ‘The African diaspora community embraced seven methods, and we leaned into that,’ she says.
These smaller stages have also become launchpads for Australian diaspora playwrights. Iolanthe, star of seven methods, saw her debut play Sistren sell out in 2025 and return this year. Kirsty Marillier, whose Orange Thrower premiered in 2022, followed up with Destiny, inspired by her South African heritage, both directed by Okenyo. For Marillier, seeing Okenyo on stage nearly a decade ago was transformative. ‘It was pivotal to see another Black woman thriving,’ she says. Now, she’s paying it forward, mentoring young Black artists like a half-South African woman who used a monologue from Orange Thrower for her audition.
Here’s the question I leave you with: Is Black theatre’s rise in Australia a long-overdue correction, or does it risk alienating other audiences? Let’s keep the conversation going in the comments.
Purpose runs from 2 February–22 March at Sydney Theatre Company. Retrograde runs from 16 May–27 June at Melbourne Theatre Company. Sistren runs from 9 April–3 May at Belvoir Downstairs, Sydney.
