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Bloomsbury has joined forces with Lit in Colour to support school efforts to feature more inclusive drama and play texts in the curriculum.
Launched in 2020 by the Runnymede Trust and Penguin Random House, Lit in Colour aims to help UK schools make the teaching of English Literature more inclusive and increase students’ access to texts by writers from minority ethnic backgrounds. Last year, its report found that less than 1% of GCSE students in England study a book by a writer of colour.
Under its Methuen Drama imprint, Bloomsbury will focus on its drama and play portfolio to work with schools on introducing new plays that will create more representative and inclusive drama experiences within the English curriculum.
The publisher has created an advisory board to guide the direction for its Lit in Colour programme. mezze eade, talent development manager at the Donmar Warehouse and an education associate at the Old Vic, Pooja Ghai, artistic director of Tamasha Theatre, and playwright Tanika Gupta have joined the board.
The board will also guide the development of a Lit in Colour list of plays by playwrights of colour and support a series of educational resources on selected plays, partnering with playwrights and theatres for use in the classroom. These will include Q&A webinars, videos, discussion questions and plays in performance.
“We see the impact that Lit in Colour is having in making English texts more representative and we know that Bloomsbury can facilitate a similar change in drama and performance," said Pooja Aggarwal, director of Bloomsbury Academic & Professional Publishing. "Our relationships with some of the greatest theatres and playwrights and our publication of play texts in the UK is world-leading.
"We have a commitment to publish new plays by authors and playwrights from diverse backgrounds. With our amazing advisory board, we will encourage and inspire schools to diversify what they teach, celebrating plays and texts by writers of colour, and creating real change both inside and outside the classroom.
"This is also an ideal opportunity to increase awareness in the education sector about the importance of plays as a genre of study at GCSE and A-Level. We are delighted to be joining the Lit in Colour team and Runnymede Trust.”
Halima Begum, c.e.o. of Runnymede Trust, added: “We are so proud that Bloomsbury is joining us to further our mission to build an inclusive English Literature curriculum for all. Lit in Colour has been joyful and transformative for schools across the country and Bloomsbury’s expertise in drama and performance will be a great asset to progress our work even further. The passion for the teaching and learning of English Literature in Britain’s classrooms has shone through in Lit in Colour. We look forward to continuing this work with Bloomsbury to ensure that all children get an English curriculum they both enjoy and see themselves in.”
The publisher has also supported Pearson’s Lit in Colour Pioneers programme for the past two years, assisting schools in diversifying their GCSE and A-Level English Literature curriculum. It has donated copies of set texts including The Empress by Gupta, Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah, adapted by Lemn Sissay, Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns and Home Fires by Kamila Shamsie.
Zaahida Nabagereka, Lit in Colour director, said: “Diversity in education cannot be solved by one entity alone so the addition of Bloomsbury’s knowledge and expertise in plays and drama to the Lit in Colour campaign underscores the importance of collaboration. We are so happy that Bloomsbury has used the Lit in Colour report to inform their partnership activity as we know this will support positive change in the English Literature classroom."