In 1986, Yvonne Brewster directed Trinidadian writer and activist C. L. R. James’ play, The Black Jacobins, which tells the story of the Haitian revolution (1791–1804). Brewster had assumed her production would be a one-off project. She was in fact staging the first show by what would become Britain's longest running black theatre company to date.
L-R Rakie Ayola (Goneril) & Debbie Korley (Regan) in Talawa Theatre's 30th anniversary King Lear, in 2016
L-R Rakie Ayola (Goneril) & Debbie Korley (Regan) in Talawa Theatre's 30th anniversary King Lear, in 2016 - Jonathan Keenan

Talawa Theatre Company was founded in 1985 by Brewster, Inigo Espejel, Mona Hammond and Carmen Munroe. Brewster was also Artistic Director of Talawa from its inception until 2002. The company was formed following a successful bid for funding offered by the Greater London Council's Race Equality Unit's Black Experience Arts Programme as part of a season to celebrate the life and work of C. L. R. James (1901–1989).

Brewster had identified and seized an opportunity in what she regards as a ‘happy accident’. A happy accident that, between 1986 and 2001, saw Brewster produce 29 productions in a range of genres, including African, American, Caribbean and British classical works. By producing performances that featured voices from four distinct genres and cultures, Brewster shone a spotlight on the range and complexity of language within the black British community and, also, illustrated her awareness of the link between language and multicultural identity.

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