Barber Shop Chronicles Announces Cast and Creative Team

American Repertory Theater has announced the cast and creative team for Inua Ellams's Barber Shop Chronicles. The Fuel, National Theatre, and West Yorkshire Playhouse coproduction begins previews on December 5, opens December 7, and closes January 5 at the Loeb Drama Center. Barber Shop Chronicles arrives in Cambridge as part of its North American premiere tour following runs at London's National Theatre and the West Yorkshire Playhouse. Bijan Sheibani directs.

The work is described as follows: "One day. Six cities. A thousand stories. Newsroom and political platform, confession box and stadium — for generations, barber shops have been places where African men gather to discuss the world. Leaping from London to Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos, and Accra, Inua Ellams' dynamic new play traces the global ties between these spaces where the banter can be barbed and the truth is always telling."

Barber Shop Chronicles features a company of 12 actors who portray dozens of roles: Tuwaine Barrett, Elliot Edusah,
Maynard Eziashi, Alhaji Fofana, Solomon Israel, Mohammed Mansaray, Patrice Naiambana, Anthony Ofoegbu, Kenneth Omole, Ekow Quartey, Jo Servi, and David Webber.

The creative team includes Rae Smith (set design), Jack Knowles (lighting design), Aline David (movement director), Gareth Fry (sound design), and Michael Henry (music direction).