'When I look at you – when you look at me – when our eyes connect?

I have to protect. To hold on to something, 'cause there's too much to feel!'

Four generations of black men are trying to understand themselves in a world which tells them they have to be strong.

Inspired by real-life testimony and told through an explosive fusion of text, physical theatre and hip-hop dance, Samskara explores vulnerability, emotional trauma and how cycles of fathering affect masculinity. Moving through joy and suffering, laughter and longing, this soul-baring odyssey untangles what it means to be a black man in twenty-first-century Britain.

Samskara premiered at The Yard Theatre, London, in November 2021, written, directed and choreographed by award-winning artist Lanre Malaolu.