Keith Saha

Black Nikki doesn’t think her dad is a racist … He just cares deeply about his community … But when a Zimbabwean family move in over the road, the dog won’t stop barking … The local kids start lobbing stones … And her dad starts laying down the law. Black is a hard-hitting play about racial tensions in the UK todayShe's Leaving HomeAt 15, Kelsey has her whole life in front of her and feels that she has everything she wants: good mates, a supportive family and big ambitions. But as the years roll by she slowly realises that leaving home to fulfill her dreams isn’t as easy as she first imagined. She’s Leaving Home was commissioned by Culture Liverpool as part of the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles seminal album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. With bracing insight into the worlds of two young women with very different struggles, Keith Saha’s Black and She’s Leaving Home force the issues of modern Britain to take centre stage. This edition was published to coincide with 20 Stories High’s national tour of Black in 2018.

Sometimes when I can’t stand on my own two feetOr the voices in my head feel cracked and incompleteI turn up the volume of my Broken BeatsThe Big Heavy Bass sends moves flowing to my feetMelodic rhymes fill my head and make me feel oh-so-sweetCos my Broken Beats help me feel aliveAnd not so Broke and Beat. The Broke ‘n’ Beat Collective is a unique mash up of hip-hop, theatre and puppetry which brings together four amazing artists: beat-boxer Hobbit, b-boy LoGisTics , singer/rapper Elektric and puppeteer Mohsen to form The Broke ‘n’ Beat Collective. Written by Keith Saha, a playwright and the co-artistic director of 20 Stories High, and Sue Buckmaster, the Artistic Director of Theatre-Rites, The Broke ‘n’ Beat Collective is a unique theatrical experience filled with gripping tales, transfixing poetry and hip-hop puppetry. Funny and moving, it is a raw and moving play that explores the hardships faced by young people in the UK today. This edition was published to coincide with a national tour of the play which opened in February 2016 in a coproduction between 20 Stories High and Theatre Rites.

I gotta keep hold of my MojoHe keeps me bouncingup and down like a yo-yoWhen I’m on a low lowHe makes me ho hoGets me flying out of black holeslike Chewbacca and Han SoloMelody is in the care system and is out of control . . . the only thing that is constant in Melody’s life is her toy monster, Mojo. Blessing has come from Nigeria to stay with an ‘Aunty’, but when the relationship breaks down, she is trapped in the care system and longs to be back with her Nana in Lagos. Rizla has just left the care system. He has been taken in by some older guys in the local hostel and has found his new ‘family’. Melody Loses Her Mojo is a bold, gritty and challenging story aimed at young people. It fuses Hip-hop theatre, dance, puppetry and street art to follow the amazing journeys of three remarkable young people, whose stories intertwine in a world full of magical and surreal moments.