Five great plays … by contemporary Black British playwrights

Cast: 4f, 6m doubling (or 10f 14m plus extras)

Synopsis: On the set of a new film about Victorian artist JMW Turner, young actress Lou is haunted by an unresolved history. We then cross to 1840s London, where Lucy and Thomas are trying to come to terms with the meaning of freedom. Moving between past and present, Winsome Pinnock's astonishing play retells British history through the prism of the slave trade. Fusing fact with fiction, and the powerfully personal with the fiercely political, Rockets and Blue Lights asks who owns our past, and who has the right to tell its stories?

Why it's great: Winner of the Alfred Fagon Award, this epic, acclaimed play by the author of Leave Taking – a set-text option for English Literature GCSE – offers ‘a swirling journey through the light and shade of black history’ (Guardian) and a large cast filled with rich performance opportunities.