World premiere of Syncopated to open at Liverpool Playhouse Theatre this September

The hidden Black history of the pioneers who brought jazz from America to the UK via Liverpool. This world premiere will open at Liverpool Playhouse on 23 September before transferring to Croydon.

Talawa Theatre Company is an Associate Company of Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, working together to produce local stories with national reach and introduce audiences to new ways of storytelling.

 Syncopated  tells the story of Him, a music student from London, and Her, a young Liverpudlian discovering each other beneath the shadow of the city and unearthing the hidden Black history of the Southern Syncopated Orchestra, the original jazz pioneers. As the couple connect, they begin to sense history’s echoes when two figures from the past lead them on a journey of personal discovery – a trip into the revolutionary Black sound that took the world, and their own lives, by storm.   

Love stories can happen anywhere. In the present or the past, in the head or the heart. Could this be the start of something new, or are they stuck repeating another love story from a hundred years earlier?   

Varaidzo  is a writer, editor and artist. Previous writing credits include:  Bus Stop  (2018, shortlisted for The Guardian and 4th Estate 4th Write Prize);  The Good Immigrant  (2016);  Who’s Loving You  (2021) and  Manny and the Baby  (2024), which was shortlisted for The Jhalak Prose Prize in 2025. 

Directed by Manchester-based  Tian Glasgow  (STUN x Lowry Associate Artist award-winner for Tomorrow is Not Promised; Threshold, Royal Exchange Theatre),  Syncopated  weaves past and present, real and imagined, love and legacy to honour a lost history and a living present. 

Michael Buffong, Artistic Director of Talawa said:

“Talawa’s Black Joy season has been one of the most ambitious and successful endeavours in our nearly 40-year history. Bringing the season to a close with the highly anticipated studio show Syncopated is a full circle moment, nurturing new work rooted in Liverpool’s musical culture and history.

It is an honour to have the opportunity to collaborate with Varaidzo and the team at Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse to do what we do best: shine a light on the prodigious talents of Black and global majority creatives.” 

Nathan Powell, Creative Director of Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse Theatres said:

“We’re so happy to continue our partnership with Talawa, one of our Associate Companies, during their Black Joy Season. Realising this new show, opening here in Liverpool, is a joy of its very own. We can’t wait to share Varaidzo’s brilliant story and for it to be enjoyed by audiences in our great cities.” 

This world premiere offers music and storytelling as redemptive, healing and a connecting bridge across generations. Syncopated runs at the Playhouse Studio from Tuesday 23 September to Saturday 4 October.

Tickets are £12.50 and available on the Liverpool Playhouse Theatre website.

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