3 September 2026
Today, London Theatre Direct launches a brand-new project, championing East & South East Asian Heritage Month and Black History Month, amongst the West End.
Speaking to performers and crew members across the industry, the two-month series focuses on uplifting those working within theatre from these backgrounds, in-line with the internationally acclaimed awareness events.
London Theatre Direct’s project will feature spokespeople from both the casts and the crew working across the theatre landscape, including The Lion King, Jesus Christ Superstar, My Neighbour Totoro, The Devil Wears Prada, High School Musical, Avenue Q and more.
The project will see photoshoots, video interviews, exclusive production shots and much more as it explores key questions around representation, what still needs to be addressed within the industry and how the landscape has changed in recent years for performers through creator and social media culture.
September champions East & South East Asian Heritage Month in the UK, which this year will focus on ‘evolving threads’. Honouring the stories of this community, the 2026 awareness event will call attention to three core themes; Adaptability, Interconnectedness and Solidarity. ESEA Heritage Month is entirely volunteer-led and donation supported and also runs an annual event calendar, helping the community come together year-round.
October plays host to Black History Month globally but also has a UK-specific collective which has set this year’s objective as ‘Honouring Our Communities’. Sharing their work across a website, event calendar, magazine and news source, Black History Month UK 2026 invites you to ‘dig deeper, look closer, think bigger’.
Follow @LondonTheatreDirect on all social platforms to keep up with the project.
Dame Rosemary Squire, Joint-CEO of Trafalgar Entertainment commented on the project:
“Theatre has the power to bring people together through storytelling, understanding and shared experiences. We are proud to support this latest project from London Theatre Direct, which shines a spotlight on the voices, talent and contributions of East and South East Asian and Black artists, performers and creatives across our industry. By celebrating these communities and amplifying their stories, we help build a more representative and inclusive future for theatre.”
Ollie Tunmore of London Theatre Direct, Producer of the project, added:
“We’re delighted to bring this two-month series to life, following the success of our Pride feature earlier in the summer of this year. By undertaking these projects, we are utilising our channels to create space for important conversations surrounding representation within the industry and allowing a chance to profile members of the community who are really making waves in progressing the landscape. It’s been a real honour working to bring this to life and hearing the stories and lived experience from members of these communities.”
Johan Oosterveld, CEO at Trafalgar Ticketing, concluded:
“It’s important to us that we use our voice and our channels to amplify good causes, outside of our day-to-day activity here at London Theatre Direct. We are working hard to continue supporting these awareness projects throughout the year to ensure that both our shows we work with and our audiences who interact with us are provided with insightful storytelling as well as having access to the fantastic theatre. As always, we thank all our shows and their teams for working with us on these projects.”