Paradise. Home of 10-year-old Darling and her friends: four children on the edge of innocence. A playground overflowing with mischief and games where they imagine countries a luxurious life away from theirs in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.
But when Darling moves to Michigan, the western world she encounters as a teenager is far from the American utopia of her dreams…
Based on the novel by NoViolet Bulawayo, the first Black African woman and first Zimbabwean to be Booker Prize-shortlisted, this defiant coming-of-age story is full of exuberance, humour and humanity.
Reviews
★★★★★ ‘Humorous and horrifying in equal measure, the show was a thoroughly engaging experience from start to finish.’
★★★★ ‘Director Monique Touko keeps the tone lively with this tough story of Mugabe’s Zimbabwe in which the actors switch race, age and gender with ease.’
★★★★ ‘We Need New Names is a wonderful look at the idea of belonging and is equally as heart-breaking as it is uplifting. A wonderful cast portray this story in a captivating way that clearly resonated with the audience.'
★★★★ ‘Ultimately, for me, the key message and takeaway from this adaptation, wonderfully directed by Monique Touko, is how we each just want to be seen in all our wonderful glory and not be limited by the impositions others put on us simply by how we look or where we were born.’