IROKO Theatre Company

About IROKO Theatre Company

IROKO Theatre Company use African arts to advance the education, health and wellbeing of people from all backgrounds and nationalities, so they can play an active role in their community and improve their quality of life. IROKO provides resources and training as well as running exhibitions, workshops and performances.

Stories of Africans Living in Newham 2021

This project researched, recorded, preserved, celebrated and shared the stories of the lives of Africans who have helped or are helping to shape the economic and urban heritage of Newham by making Newham their home, through records and an online musical theatre performance. This would not have been possible without our incredible volunteer researchers:

Cynthia Nkiruka Anyadi

Cynthia is currently studying an MRes Cultural Geography at Royal Holloway University and is the Research Officer at Black Geographers. She’s particularly interested in highlighting the importance of oral histories and storytelling for creating accessible research, as well as in encouraging research into African history and culture done for and by those with African heritage.

Louise Meiklejohn

Louise is a recent MA Museum and Heritage Studies graduate from Nottingham Trent University. She is interested in community engagement and local history. Of ‘Stories of Africans Living in Newham’ she says: “I have loved working on this project as it gave me a chance to uncover incredible stories and learn more about the area of Newham.” Follow her on twitter here