A new play inspired by the murder of Stephen Lawrence will have its world premiere only a few miles from where he was killed.
The Architect is being staged on a bus as part of this year’s Greenwich + Docklands International Festival which runs from August 25 to September 10.
Playwright Roy Williams has helped create the show which is described as “a life-affirming theatrical journey infused with the experiences of Black Londoners across the three decades since the murder”.
The 18-year-old, who wanted to train to be an architect, was stabbed to death during an attack by six white youths while waiting for a bus in Eltham, south-east London, 30 years ago, on April 22 1993.
An independent review of the Met’s investigation of the case later found the probe was riddled by failures, including “institutional racism”.
Five men were arrested for the murder and after a prolonged campaign for justice two of them, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were handed life sentences in 2012 after being found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey.
Matthew Xia, Artistic Director of the Actors Touring Company who will perform the play, said: “Thirty years ago, the UK was rocked to its core by the unprovoked racist murder of South London teenager Stephen Lawrence.
“The ensuing decades became a fight for justice and revealed the extent of institutional racism across the nation. I have gathered a collective of the most brilliant Black theatre artists to respond to this commemorative moment, and as is often the way with such painful events and memories, we want to try to move through the trauma, and the profound loss towards something uplifting and hopeful.
“We come together in our collective power to imagine an alternative city, designed and inhabited by The Architect.”
The festival will also feature dancers and circus perfomers taking part in events on either side of the river.
