Current Productions 

The drum. The beat. The rhythm. Can you hear it? Can you feel it? What is it saying? This is the language of the drum – every sound has a meaning, every sound has a code, every sound carries a message. It can move you. It is the heartbeat of us all. Listen closely – it is telling you a story. My story. The story of how I came to be here. 

Abena lives in Ghana. Sitting among the huge trees one day she spots a camouflaged bird – the nightjar. They become friends and Abena questions where the nightjar goes for half the year. She is happy until one day she is told she must leave her home and move to England. This is a story about migration, about learning how to fit in, about differences and similarities, and ultimately how we can hold two homes in one heart.  

Co-Produced with New Forest based company Forest Forge Theatre and with funding from Arts Council England, Suitcase Stories: Nightjar is a 30 minute, one person show.   

African Activities will be taking the show to festivals this summer. To book a Suitcase Stories: Nightjar performance, please contact African Activities on adeola@africanactivities.org.uk. For Black History Month enquires, contact Ellie at Forest Forge on ellie@forestforgetheatre.co.uk.

Nightjar is a collaboration between Forest Forge Theatre and African Activities and supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Connection Between Residents and Staff

Nightjar also supports connection between residents and staff.

Care teams are increasingly diverse, with many staff from the global majority working in environments where they are not always reflected or fully recognised. This can make day-to-day connection more challenging, even in well-run homes.

By creating a shared experience — where residents and staff are responding to the same story and rhythms — Nightjar helps to:

• build rapport between residents and staff
• support communication beyond words
• create more connected group dynamics

Sessions are designed to be low-pressure, inclusive, and suitable for mixed-ability groups.

While beautiful and gently delivered with the perfect balance between moments of seriousness and play, for adults watching with their young people or by themselves, this piece doesn’t sit quietly.

It moves through memory, across land and lineage, into places that might feel tender, unfamiliar, or close to home in ways you weren’t expecting. There may be moments that stir something deep—grief, recognition, discomfort, longing. None of that is wrong. None of it is too much.

If something rises in you, here are some ways to hold yourself through it:

Let yourself feel what comes
You don’t need to push anything away. If something catches in your chest or lands heavy in your body, notice it. Stay with yourself. You are allowed to feel moved, unsettled, open, or unsure. Let the feeling pass through rather than asking it to make sense straight away.

Come back to your breath
If something feels intense, your breath can bring you home.
Try this gently: breathe in for four… hold for four… breathe out for four… hold again.
Keep going until your body begins to soften, until your breath feels like yours again. There’s no rush.

Don’t hold it alone
If you can, come with someone you trust—someone who knows how to listen, not fix. The kind of person you can sit beside in silence or speak to afterwards without needing to tidy your thoughts.
If you come alone, consider who you might reach out to after. A message, a voice note, a conversation that lets the experience land somewhere outside of you as well.

Prepare yourself if you need to
If you’d rather not walk in blind, you can read a summary of the work below.

 Story Summary

Told through song, drumming, puppetry and wonderfully engrossing storytelling, the story of Nightjar is about a girl called Abena who lives in Ghana who love to play among the big trees and be surrounded by her community.

When Abena is forced to leave Ghana, the bird becomes her guide and friend, as she learns to fit into this new home in Southampton.

 Signposting 

If something in this performance stirred more than you expected, particularly for those who will connect with the lived experience of the characters in the play — you’re not alone.
If you need to talk, to sit with someone who understands, or to find support that reflects your lived experience — these spaces are here for you.

Black Minds Matter
Mental Health Support
https://www.blackmindsmatteruk.com/

Stop Hate UK
Race & Race related crime
www.stophateuk.org
0800 138 1625

The Black, African and Asian Therapy Network

Home of the largest community of Counsellors and Psychotherapists of Black, African, Asian and Caribbean Heritage in the UK

https://www.baatn.org.uk/home/

Or if you feel you need urgent support please call…

Samaritans
A free, confidential listening service, available 24 hours a day on 116 123.

Shout
A free 24/7 UK text service for anyone in crisis. Text 85258.