BiBi Crew, founded in 1991, was the first British comedy troupe to consist entirely of Black actresses. Their work focuses on the Black British experience.

History

In 1991, Joanne Campbell,

Judith Jacob Judith Jacob (born 13 December 1961) is a British actress best known for her role as the health visitor Carmel Roberts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', a role she played from 1986 to 1989.Janet Kay Janet Kay Bogle (born 17 January 1958) is an English actress and vocalist, best known for her 1979 lovers rock hit " Silly Games". Biography Janet Kay Bogle was born in Willesden, North West London. She was discovered singing impromptu at a ...

, Suzette Llewellyn, Josephine Melville, Beverley Michaels and

Suzanne Packer Suzanne Packer (born Suzanne Jackson on 26 November 1962) is a Welsh actress, known for playing the role of Tess Bateman in the BBC medical drama '' Casualty'' from September 2003 to August 2015. She later returned to the series as a guest for ...

founded BiBi Crew in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. According to Jacob and Michaels, the group was founded in response to The Posse, a comedy group made up of Black actors. Michaels saw the troupe perform and thought "there should be a group of women doing this" and contacted the other women involved. Campbell has stated that the group formed after a memorial benefit at the

Theatre Royal Stratford East Stratford East (formerly known as Theatre Royal Stratford East) is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with di ...

to celebrate the life of actor Calvin Simpson, in which a few of the troupe members participated."The BiBi Crew"
''The Late Show'', BBC2, 1992. The troupe's name combines the word for lady in Swahili and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, with the use of the word crew, which was popular with American music groups, and which the group thought gave them some "street cred". They were all of "

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

descent", and "devised and produced work with an African Caribbean perspective" that drew on their personal experiences.^:74 They wrote, directed, produced and acted in their productions, which combined music, dance, drama and sketch comedy^:44 They were regular performers at the Theatre Royal Stratford East and contributed to the theatre's mission to reflect the diversity of

Newham The London Borough of Newham () is a London boroughs, London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of County Borough of West Ham, West Ham and County ...

where it was located.^:305 They also toured throughout the United Kingdom and United States.^:20

Reunion

BiBi Crew reunited in 2005 without Campbell, who died in 2002, and Kay, who was pursuing a career in music.

Legacy

They contributed to the emergence of a black comedy circuit in Britain in the 1990s. Along with groups such as The Posse, they "introduced a new energized performance style into diasporic theatre in the early 1990s that was breaking away from old categories and attracting a black audience with sketch-like material, often highly political, rooted in common experience"^:195 Additionally, their performances at the Theatre Royal Stratford East helped to inspire the subsequent Asian revue series.^:20

Productions

* ''On A Level'' (1992), Theatre Royal Stratford East * ''But Stop! We Got Work To Do'' (1995),

Bloomsbury Theatre The Bloomsbury Theatre is a theatre located on Gordon Street in Bloomsbury, within the London Borough of Camden. It is owned by University College London. The Theatre has a seating capacity of 541 and offers a professional programme of innovati ...

*''Shut Down'' (2017), Hackney Picturehouse *''Get Raunchy'' (2018),

Bernie Grant Arts Centre The Bernie Grant Arts Centre (BGAC) is a £15 million purpose-built multi-arts centre, which includes a 274-seat auditorium, studio/rehearsal space, café/bar, enterprise centre and open spaces. It is located next to the Town Hall in Tottenham, ...

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links