There will be 2 performances (followed by a Q & A) of this show:
11.00am - 12.30pm
14.00pm - 15.30pm
Your ticket will allow you to watch either performance.
Written & Directed by Lloyd Curtis & Shamone Preddie and co-produced & performed by the members of the https://theblackmensconsortium.com/
At the heart of the play lies a critical and often overlooked issue: the inequalities and disparities faced by Black women in maternity care, and the impact these have on their partners.
While much attention is rightly given to maternal outcomes, Umbilical brings into focus the parallel journey of Black men—fathers and partners who too often find themselves sidelined, silenced, or criminalised when simply advocating for their loved ones.
Through moving, poetic, and unflinching storytelling, the play reveals Zion’s desperate fight to secure the urgent medical attention his partner Leah needs during labour. His determination collides with the racism and suspicion he encounters in the hospital system, echoing the struggles his father Dwayne and grandfather Elijah faced in their own lifetimes.
These three men’s stories interweave to reveal the weight of generational trauma—trauma borne not only from systemic racism, but from the inherited silence of fathers unable or unwilling to speak their pain.
Umbilical asks: how do men heal when silence is passed down like blood? How do families break cycles of absence, neglect, and loss when institutions continue to fail them?
Performed by an all-male cast, this groundbreaking work by https://theblackmensconsortium.com/ fuses testimony, movement, and dialogue to create a space for reflection, conversation, and change.
More than theatre, it is a call to action: to see, to listen, and to reimagine what true equity in maternity care might look like—for Black women, and for the men who stand with them.
Join us for this vital performance, followed by a facilitated discussion to reflect on the themes of the play and the urgent need for change.
