Welcome to the Melan Magazine October Out & About roundup of theatre, exhibitions and masterclasses to add to your plans.
It’s Black History Month, though for us, every month is Black History. As usual, we have listed some activities and events for you to check out. Browse through our list and make a note to add them to your calendar.
If you attend any of these events we’d love to hear about it; let us know how it went in the comments.
To share your events for consideration in future roundups, email: info@melanmag.com with “Out & About” as the heading.
‘Shirley Chisholm: Unbossed & Unbowed’ comes to London
Award-winning production Shirley Chisholm: Unbossed & Unbowed comes to Bernie Grant Arts Centre bringing the story of the pioneering Black politician to London audiences.
Written and performed by Ingrid Griffith, Shirley Chisholm: Unbossed & Unbowed tells the largely unheard story of the Brooklyn-born daughter of Caribbean immigrants who became the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress in 1968. In 1972, she became the first Black candidate to seek the presidential nomination of a major US political party and the first woman to seek the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.
Griffith portrays Chisholm alongside 15 other characters and the production traces Chisholm’s journey from her childhood in Barbados through her political rise, exploring the racism, sexism and political barriers she confronted along the way.
Post-show Q&As following the production will take place giving audiences an opportunity to engage directly with Griffith.
Date: Friday 9 October to Sunday 11 October 2026
Venue: Bernie Grant Arts Centre | Tottenham | London | N15 4RX
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‘Where Dere’s A Will Dere’s A Criminal’ comes to the UK
The Caribbean’s legendary King of Comedy, Oliver Samuels, brings to the UK, his latest and funniest play to date, Where Dere’s A Will Dere’s A Criminal.
The play is written and directed by Samuels and he’s supported by a star-studded cast. The play follows the hilarious story of what happens when a Jamaican businessman and former rail worker, Charles Wilkins, passes away and those nearest and dearest to him gather for his funeral and for the reading of his will.
His faithful caregiver Louise, his womanising son Leroy, his feisty British-based daughter Clarissa and his financially challenged brother Raff, all have reasons to hope that they will receive something from the estate. But a series of mysterious phone calls leads to major doubts about who is in and who is out of the will, leading to hilarious and suspenseful consequences as the big day approaches!
Date: 10-31 October 2026
Venue: Various locations
Sat 10 Oct – Zorastrian Centre, Harrow | Sun 11 Oct – Concert Hall Fairfield Halls, Croydon | Sat 17 and Sat 24 – Broadway Theatre, Catford | Sat 18 Oct – Albert Hall, Nottingham | Fri 23 Oct – Hexagon, Reading | Sun 25 Oct – O2 Academy, Birmingham | Sat 31 Oct – Hackney Empire
The 90s: Art and Fashion – Tate Britain
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Those of you who lived through it the first time around, you won’t want to miss this exciting 90s: Art and Fashion exhibition at Tate Britain.
The exhibition is curated by fashion and media mogul, Edward Enninful OBE, whose lived experience of the decade informs this production. Expect to see installations made up of art, design, fashion and photography; the 90s-focused exhibition displays the audacious British spirit that defined that decade.
Visitors can expect fashion, art and design from the likes of Steve McQueen, Yinka Shonibare, Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen among many others. A day out at Tate Britain Is always a vibe.
Date: Thursday 8 October 2026 – Sunday 14 February 2027
Venue: Tate Britain | Millbank | London | SW1P 4RG
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Remember Us Tomorrow by Renell Shaw
Ivor Novello recipient and platinum-selling composer Renell Shaw brings his production of Remember Us Tomorrow to Kings Place on 9 October.
This brand-new Kings Place commission, part of the venue’s Memory Unwrapped season, asks what it means to be of Afro-Caribbean heritage after three generations in Britain, raising a fourth in a world that is both hyper-connected and deeply divided. What stories must we protect? Shaw’s most personal masterpiece to date reflects on his generation’s journey into adulthood and asks how we preserve our culture for the generations to come.
The live concert unites a roll call of elite instrumentalists and vocalists who bring a genre-bending approach to the stage.
Date: Friday 9 October 2026
Time: 7pm
Venue: Hall One – Kings Place | 90 York Way | King’s Cross| London | N1 9AG
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Join the Talawa Iconic celebration: 40th Anniversary Showcase
Tickets are available for an extraordianary celebration of 40 years of Talawa Theatre. The Hackney Empire in London is the wonderful backdrop for Talawa Iconic, an evening looking back on Talawa’s influence on Black British theatre.
Guests can expect a spectacular lineup of activies, attended by some of the UK’s most acclaimed Black theatre artists, all coming together to celebrate the company that has championed the culture for 40 years.
There will be short excerpts of some of theatre’s most illustrious productions over the 40 years and music from Chineke! Quartet. Performances will celebrate the breadth of Talawa’s work, among many other highlights.
Date: Tuesday 13 October 2026
Time: from 7pm – Black Carpet from 6pm
Venue: Hackney Empire | 291 Mare Street | London | E8 1EJ
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Yinka Ilori: CHAIRMAN: The Exhibition
Calling all home décor fans. British-Nigerian artist Yinka Ilori is bringing a decade of making chairs to a wonderful new exhibition this October, entitled: CHAIRMAN: The Exhibition.
Following his recent collaboration with Dunelm, home furnishing store, this three-day show is a rare chance to see his entire collection of chairs in person. What’s more, the venue, the Walter Sickert Community Centre in Canonbury, is a neighbourhood that Ilori originally began designing in.
Date: 14-16 October 2026
Venue: Walter Sickert Community Centre | Canonbury Crescent | London | N1 2FB
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Check out the Hackney Writers Legacy Steps: staircase honouring 48 Black writers
Credit: CBBF UK
If you’re anywhere near Dalston, East London in October, take the time to swing by the Hackney Writers Legacy Steps at the Dalston CLR James Library; a staircase of 48 steps, each step bearing the name of inspiring and well-known figures connected to the borough. Celebrating wordsmiths such as authors Dame Malorie Blackman, Diane Abbott MP and Patrice Lawrence to musicians including Gabrielle, Labrinth and Screenwriter Michaela Coel to name a few.
Created by young people for The Children’s Black Book Fair (CBBF UK), the Hackney Writers Legacy Steps was initially planned to last for just one weekend, but will now remain in place throughout October, as part of the borough’s programme of cultural events and activities for Black History Season.
Date: Through October
Venue: Dalston CLR James Library | Dalston Square | London | E8 3BQ
Brighton & Hove’s October Unpacked festival is back!
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October Unpacked is a month-long cultural festival taking place across Brighton & Hove featuring more than 100 events and activities across multiple venues.
The programme, created by Brighton & Hove Tourism Alliance in 2025, brings together several of the city’s distinctive autumn festivals, spanning food, drink, art and performance, in one vibrant celebration.
Highlights include a month-long Taste Trail with offers at some of the city’s best restaurants, bars and pubs; electrifying West African powerhouse supergroup, Les Amazones d’Afrique, at Brighton Dome and a number of painting, sculpture, ceramics and immersive installations over each October weekend, courtesy of community arts collective Artcore.
The wider programme includes performances at some of the city’s best-known cultural venues alongside exhibitions, supper clubs, markets and film screenings, giving copious reasons to enjoy an autumn outing by the coast.
Don’t miss “Gospel Orchestrated” by Brixton Chamber Orchestra
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This is your chance to come together for a major celebration of gospel music, its history and its influence across generations.
The Gospel Orchestrated concert will celebrate gospel as a living musical tradition – rooted in faith, migration, resistance and joy, and continually reshaped across African, Caribbean, British and American cultures.
Headlining the evening is MOBO Award-winning gospel singer Lurine Cato MBE, one of the UK’s leading gospel voices. Joining her is Isaiah Raymond Dyer, also a MOBO Award winner and Dove Award nominee.
The concert will also feature the College of Gospel Choir, who will be joined by a 40-piece Brixton Chamber Orchestra and a world-class gospel band, combining massed voices with strings, brass, woodwind and rhythm in BCO’s distinctive genre-crossing style. Gospel lovers, this is not the one to miss.
Date: Saturday 17 October 2026
Time: 7pm
Venue: Streatham Hill Theatre / Ruach City Church | 110 Streatham Hill | London | SW2 4RD
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TELLUS – theatrical dance production at Sadler’s Wells
Catch British Olivier Award-winning dancer and composer Dickson Mbi’s theatrical dance production TELLUS showing at Sadler’s Wells East later this month.
Rooted in Mbi’s Cameroonian heritage and inspired by the African water spirit, Mami Wata, TELLUS follows the journey of a young boy disconnected from Mother Earth and thrust into a village at the mercy of a devastating drought. Guided by an enigmatic ancestral figure, he comes to understands a fundamental truth: humanity has forgotten how to worship and protect the land, and his journey is a desperate struggle to heal a broken relationship, restore balance and to reconnect with nature.
Featuring eight dancers of global heritage, the production brings together contemporary dance, African-rooted dance traditions, street dance and hip-hop, creating a physical language through which Mbi explores humanity’s relationship with the natural world.
Accompanying the production is an original immersive soundtrack score set for release as its own entity on 21 October via Wise Music.
Date: Wednesday 21 to Saturday 24 October 2026
Venue: Saddler’s Wells
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In Our Hands: Hair, Memory & Making with Charlotte Mensah
Award-winning hairstylist and author Charlotte Mensah continues her popular “In Our Hands” masterclasses for families to celebrate Black hair, creativity, memory and identity.
The interactive event features Charlotte Mensah’s personal archive into conversation with objects from the Horniman Museum’s Handling Collection and explores the rituals, skills and stories connected to Black hair.
Families can take part in masterclasses to learn practical haircare and styling techniques. Alongside the masterclasses, visitors can explore archive materials and museum objects. Advance booking is recommended.
Date: Sunday 25 October 2026
Venue: Horniman Museum & Gardens | 100 London Road, Forest Hill | London | SE23 3PQ
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