Oxford Playhouse, The North Wall, and Pegasus Theatre have announced that Kuumba Nia Arts will be the first performing arts company to participate in Circuit Breaker, a new pilot artistic development scheme.

The newly conceived pilot programme aims to support one Global Majority-led company from Oxfordshire, supported by the Oxford Cultural Anti-Racism Alliance (OCARA). The three venues are excited to introduce Kuumba Nia Arts as the inaugural Circuit Breaker company and look forward to welcoming them into their venues to support their development and future work.

Kuumba Nia Arts is a Black-led Oxford-based touring theatre company that produces and develops work based on traditional African theatrical forms and aesthetics.

One of their notable productions is SOLD, the forgotten and true story of Mary Prince who was born into enslavement on the British-owned island of Bermuda. The production follows her first-hand account of brutality at the height of the slave trade.

The story of Mary Prince began at Offbeat Festival 2018, before being further developed as SOLD during the company's tenure on the Evolve Artist Development scheme at The Playhouse. Following its success, the show was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it won Winner of Best Ensemble in a Musical Theatre Show. It then went on to tour nationally and internationally.

Circuit Breaker represents a collaboration among the three organisations as part of their ongoing efforts to address and challenge bias and institutional discrimination within the cultural sector in Oxfordshire.