Red Lens, a black, female-led arts organisation founded by actress and producer Shireenah Ingram, is to stage its debut theatre production.
False Accounts, a play based on the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, will première in venues across Birmingham in summer 2025.
“This is more than a play—it’s a platform,” said Ingram. “Red Lens exists to challenge the narrative of who gets to tell stories and who gets to be seen. False Accounts is our way of opening the door for a new wave of regional talent.”
Fourteen emerging actors and three backstage trainees are being paid to work on False Accounts, which is written by Lance Nielsen and directed by Jasmine Arden-Brown.
Ingram said the production was “deeply personal”. Just over 20 years ago, she was part of the Ballet Hoo! project, a “life-changing experience” that gave her a platform to train professionally, perform on major stages and be mentored by industry leaders. Red Lens was created “to offer that same opportunity to a new generation of underrepresented creatives”.
False Accounts will be presented at Birmingham’s Old Joint Stock Theatre on Thursday 26 June, GAP Entertainment Studios at West Bromwich on Thursday 3 July and the Core Theatre, Solihull on Saturday 5 July. Further information is available at the Red Lens web site.