Of Small and Black Things is a contemporary folktale that weaves together oral history and Ashanti folklore to tell the mythical tale of Rose; a small black bird that leaves everything she knows behind in pursuit of color. Rose's voyage across the Atlantic echoes the journey of many African female migrants, but draws on the stories of my mother and grandmother, and their respective journeys in search of opportunity as well as their struggle to find a safe place to land. As Rose encounters other black birds; African-Americans who arrived long before, her eyes are opened to a shared consciousness of what it means to be small and black in this world.

150 years ago, with a nation on the brink of destruction, a young girl’s prophecy promises a new dawn, a cleansing that will save her people. Her words inspire a movement that ultimately changes the course of history, bringing hope and destruction to a South African country in this true story presented by the State Theatre. Loosely based on the historic Xhosa cattle-killings in British Kaffraria between1856–1857, Blood Sun weaves together live performance and puppetry to bring this epic, unimaginable story to life.