Award-winning reggae star, DJ and actor Sutara Gayle (aka Lorna Gee) is ready to raise the roof in our Courtyard Theatre on 18-19 November with The Legends of Them, charting the story of her extraordinary life – and the legends who have guided her along the way.

As an added bonus for Leeds audiences, there will be a free accompanying exhibition, Female Pioneers of Reggae, from 10-22 November in the Newlyn Gallery at the Playhouse, curated by the Museum of Youth Culture and Sutara Gayle, and supported by the Heritage Fund.

There will also be a fantastic post-show gig on 18 November – free with a ticket to the show – featuring Sutara and Composer and Musical Director Christella Litras alongside a roster of exciting local legends, including poet and literary activist Khadijah Ibrahiim; multidisciplinary artist Phenicia Williams; actor, dancer, singer and model Nichola Manners; poet, lecturer and the first woman to win the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem twice Dr Malika Booker; versatile vocalist Danni Mayers; international DJ and producer DJ Sensi; and singer-songwriter and passionate community activist Paulette Morris.

The Legends of Them – a Hackney Showroom production in association with the Royal Court Theatre and Brixton House – is powered by high-octane musical numbers and a virtuoso performance.

Sutara Gayle said: “The process of creating this show has been enlightening, challenging and therapeutic. Working with Hackney Showroom has been such an inspiration for me. I’ve learnt about trusting the process and allowing the story to unfold. I wrote the first draft whilst sat behind the curtains, dressed as Tina Turner’s grandma, during the run of Tina the Musical. There was something magical about being on stage whilst writing which enabled me to channel my own story.

“It’s been a long time coming and I’m so excited to share my story with the world. I’m on an onward journey, a journey that won’t stop until I take my last breath. My hope is that audiences come away feeling that they can embrace their own journey, take control of their own narrative and stand in their own power.”

The Legends of Them explores Sutara Gayle’s extraordinary life as a pioneering female DJ on London’s infamous reggae scene in the 1980s. As Lorna Gee, she performed for the legendary Saxone, Coxsone and Nasty Rockers sound systems. An exchange with Linton Kwesi Johnson in a dole queue inspired her to write her first single, Three Weeks Gone (mi Giro), which she heard for the first time on the radio while doing a stint in Holloway Prison. Subsequently, her hit single, Got To Find A Way, rode high in the reggae charts for six weeks; she won the BBC Radio London Reggae Award in 1985 and 1986; and, in 1992 in New York, she picked up the Tamika Reggae Award for Best Female DJ.

In 1985, her sister Cherry Groce was shot by the police, sparking the second Brixton Uprising. This landmark event in British history provides the socio-political backdrop to Sutara’s compelling story. In her darkest hour, her brother – renowned spiritual guru Mooji – took her to India to experience her first Satsang (spiritual gathering). Her subsequent encounter with three spiritual guides, her mother, sister and ancestor Nanny of the Maroons, frames this story.