Powerful and personal tale

Red Snapper, by Liz Mytton, runs from Saturday March 5 to Saturday March 19.

It stars Cathy Tyson, who won plaudits around the world for her role in the 1986 film Mona Lisa, in which she made her debut, playing alongside Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins and Robbie Coltrane, and for which she was nominated for a Bafta and a Golden Globe. She has also enjoyed a long career in television, with roles in Band of Gold, Grange Hill and Emmerdale.

Red Snapper is set in Jamaica in 1962. It follows the story of five women and their husbands on the council, as personal and political tensions simmer against a backdrop of mass emigration and unrest.

With local people increasingly excluded from the beaches, so as not to ruin the view for the growing tourist trade, a planned visit from nearby Cuba’s communist leader, Fidel Castro, adds to the friction.

Shining a spotlight on f five women swimming against the tide of political and social change, Red Snapper is the first full production to come from the Belgrade Theatre’s playwriting project, Critical Mass, for emerging playwrights from black and minority ethnic communities.

Writer Liz Mytton said: “I didn’t set out with a black agenda, just a desire to share something close to my own heart. Often it’s men who are seen to be at the forefront of historical change. The wives, mothers and partners, by contrast, tend to be presented as subordinate to their husbands. Having the men played by women in this piece will hopefully ensure that the audience never loses sight of whose story is paramount.”

Tickets cost from £9.50 - £17. Call 024 7655 3055 or visit www.belgrade.co.uk to book.