★★★★ “As entertaining as it is unnerving” The Stage
★★★★ “Unique, challenging and oh-so necessary” The Guardian
★★★★ "Like nothing you've ever seen” The Telegraph
★★★★ "This is not your typical play about race" The Times
★★★★ "Clever, prickly, elaborate, challenging and delivered with great skill" Financial Times
★★★★ "A vivid, bone-crunchingly intimate joyride of a show" Time Out
★★★★ "Unpredictably bonkers... fasten your seatbelt" Broadway World
★★★★ "I would recommend this play in a heartbeat" Afridiziak
★★★★ "A necessary piece of theatre... Tambo & Bones is one for the books." The Rendition
★★★★★ “By far the best new American play I have seen for years” LondonTheatre1
★★★★★ “A stellar work of art” All That Dazzles
★★★★★ “Remarkable” North West End
★★★★★ “A new classic” lastminutetheatretickets.com
Written by Dave Harris
Directed by Matthew Xia
Tambo and Bones are stuck in a minstrel show. It's hard to know what's real when you're stuck in a minstrel show. Their escape plan: get out, get rich, get even.
Join Tambo (Rhashan Stone) and Bones (Daniel Ward) on their journey from comedy double-act, to hip-hop superstars, to activists in an America at the epicentre of the global Black Lives Matter movement.
TAMBO & BONES laughs through our past, blows the roof off our present and imagines an explosive future for our world and for theatre.
‘A racially charged metatheatrical satire and "rags-to-riches hip-hop odyssey" by slam poet turned playwright Dave Harris.’ (Time Out New York, 30 best Off Broadway shows to see in Spring 2022)
Presented by Theatre Royal Stratford East and Actors Touring Company.
BLACK OUT performance: Wed 05 Jul, 7.30pm - Frequently Asked Questions
As part of the run of the show, we will be hosting our first ever BLACK OUT performance on Wed 05 Jul at 7.30pm.
While this performance has been arranged for Black audience members specifically, no one is excluded from attending.
WHAT IS A BLACK OUT?
“A BLACK OUT night is the purposeful creation of an environment in which an all-Black-identifying audience can experience and discuss an event in the performing arts, film, and cultural spaces – free from the white gaze.” blackoutnite.com
Originated by Jeremy O. Harris for his play Slave Play, the very first BLACK OUT night took place on Broadway in 2019. The initiative was brought to London during the run of his show Daddy at the Almeida Theatre as he felt it was important for Black theatregoers to be able to experience sitting in a theatre space where the whole audience looks like them.
Director Matthew Xia said "Over the last few years, a number of playwrights and directors in the US and the UK have created private and safe spaces for Black theatre-goers to experience productions that explore complex, nuanced race-related issues. I felt that with a play like TAMBO & BONES which unpicks the complexity of Black performance in relation to the white gaze, it was imperative that we created such a space."
Concessions
Available for under 17s
£15 tickets for Young Royalty and Local Royalty members for the following performances: 16-21 Jun & 23-24 Jun. Click here to find out more about our Royalty Scheme.
Click here for details about companion/carer tickets
Schools Rates
Newham schools: £12 per person
All other schools: £14 per person
Group Bookings
If you buy nine standard rate tickets then you get the 10th free. Group bookings (of nine or more tickets) can only be booked over the phone or in person.
Booking Enquiries
Our online booking system doesn’t allow customers to leave isolated seats. We do this in order to prevent gaps in the auditorium.
Currently seats are on sale from Row B in the stalls, and it is possible that Row A will go on sale at a later date, so please be aware that purchasing seats in Row B does not guarantee that you will be in the front row.
Please note that our boxes have a slightly restricted view. Seats marked with an ‘i’ on the seating plan have a restricted view.
If you require any help with your booking then please contact our Box Office by emailing tickets@stratfordeast.com or calling 020 8534 0310.
Our ticket prices increase as the theatre fills. We always recommend booking early to secure the best seats at the best price.
CAST
Tambo - Rhashan Stone
Bones - Daniel Ward
X-BOT-1 - Jaron Lammens
X-BOT-2 - Dru Cripps
CREATIVES
Written by Dave Harris
Director - Matthew Xia
Designers - Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey & ULTZ
Lighting Designer - Ciarán Cunningham
Hip-Hop Beats Produced by Excalibah*
Sound Designer & Additional Composition by Richard Hammarton
Movement Director - Kloé Dean
Video Designer - Gino Ricardo Green
Casting Director - Julia Horan CDG
Assistant Director - Danielle Kassarate
Costume Supervisor - Ysanne Tidd
Fight Director - Kevin McCurdy
Voice & Dialect Coach - Joel Trill
Magic & Illusions Consultant - Chris Cox
Production Dramatherapist - Wabriya King
Puppetry Designer - Hugh Purves
Assistant Designer - Mark Simmons
Assistant Director position funded by Fenton Arts Trust, Idlewild Trust and Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation.
*WAR produced by Roly Botha and Excalibah
Dollas to Dreams produced by Excalibah and Roly Botha
PRODUCTION TEAM
Production Managers - Jess Harwood & Luke Child
Deputy Production Managers - Daniel Steward & Simon Godfrey
Stage Manager - Marie-Angelique St. Hill
Deputy Stage Manager - Phyllys Egharevba
Assistant Stage Manager - Dynzell Muguti
Head of Lighting - Charlie Mann
Lighting Deputy - Sam Marshall
Head of Sound - Jeremy George
Company Manager - Vanessa Sutherland
Wardrobe Manager - Shereen Maungoo
Stage Crew - Emily Forbes & Amy Le Sage
Scenic Carpenters - Bartosz Chmielak & India Milla
Puppet Maker - Emily Tupholme
Illusion Builder - Thomas Moore
Illusion Knives - Steven Herbert for Bloody Stuff
More Information
Age Guidance: 14+ (click here for Content Advisory Notes)
Running time: 120 minutes, including an interval
Access Performances
Socially Distanced & Masked: Sat 24 Jun, 2.30pm
Relaxed Environment (what's this?): Sat 01 Jul 2.30pm
BSL Interpreted: Thu 06 Jul, 7.30pm
Captioned: Fri 07 Jul, 7.30pm
Audio Described: Sat 08 Jul, 2.30pm
Pay What You Can performance: Mon 19 Jun, 7.30pm (what's this?)
BLACK OUT performance: Wed 05 Jul, 7.30pm (what's this?)
Resources and additional information: download here
Post-show talk: Wed 13 Jul, evening performance. Hosted by Adrian Lester.
