There’s extraordinary energy in Unseen Unheard: The untold breast most cancers tales of Black girls within the UK at Theatre Peckham that must be heard extra broadly
“Cancer may not care about race but the system does”
There are moments right here when the info stands out from the drama, however when the statistics are as appalling as these right here, you perceive why. Death charges for Black girls with breast most cancers being a 3rd as excessive as that for white girls, their comparative diagnoses coming at later, extra harmful levels than white girls, practically 75% of these utilizing prosthetics not being supplied the fitting color. Offensive and outrageous, and but we’ve let society get away with it for too lengthy.
Commissioned and funded by Gilead Sciences Ltd and introduced by Theatre Peckham for this restricted run in affiliation with Black Women Rising, playwright Naomi Denny is making certain that we are able to’t protest ignorance for for much longer. Unseen Unheard: The untold breast most cancers tales of Black Women within the UK has been developed from real-life experiences to offer wider voice to those systemic points, to contextualise simply what disparities in analysis and care truly imply IRL.
We meet our six characters at a help group for Black girls with breast most cancers. Set up by two of them who are actually NED (no proof of illness, versus in remission), there’s a tacit acknowledgement that the creation of a secure area is an actual factor, an surroundings wherein it’s extra comfy to share feelings and expertise inside a neighborhood. And human beings being who they’re, even inside a neighborhood there may be nice variety within the tales to be advised.
From Dorah’s Stage 4 analysis and the depth of what she’s feeling to Aliyah’s delayed reactions to her personal latest information, from Pauline’s open-hearted welcome to Sonya’s buttoned-up reluctance to share, intersecting traces of mates, household and religion play their very own half in shaping experiences. Wanting to guard family members, feeling unable to guard them too, frustration at a well being service that may’t or gained’t hear, anger at professionals unaware of how their racial bias is displaying (the anecdote about toleration of ache was one other revelation).
Co-directors Simon Frederick and Suzann McLean do a outstanding job at conserving issues even-handed, enfolding us into the belief circle however by no means letting us get overwhelmed by the gravity of the fabric. There’s a lot humour right here in addition to heartbreak, Carol Moses’ Dorah a key exponent of each. Denise Pitter brings deligthful heat to Pauline and the interaction between Yvonne Gidden’s Sonya and Genesis Lynea as her daughter Lily is fantastically sketched because the richness of their storyline unfolds. One actually hopes this isn’t the final we hear of this highly effective play.