Ingrid Griffith brings the extraordinary life of political trailblazer Shirley Chisholm to the stage in an award-winning one-woman show.
Shirley Chisholm made history as the first African American woman elected to the United States Congress and the first African American to seek the presidential nomination of a major American political party.
Born in Brooklyn to Caribbean parents, Chisholm spent part of her childhood living with her grandmother in Barbados. Those formative years strengthened her Caribbean identity and helped shape the confidence, determination and expectations she carried into adult life.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Chisholm challenged a political system dominated by powerful white men. She became known as the “Black Joan of Arc” and called herself “Fighting Shirley” as she confronted political machines, racial discrimination and sexism in her pursuit of justice.
Written and performed by Ingrid Griffith, this immersive solo production follows Chisholm from childhood to the heights of American politics. Griffith portrays Shirley at different stages of her life while also bringing numerous figures from her world to the stage.
Through storytelling, movement, music and historical visuals, the production captures the social, economic and political upheaval experienced in America from the Great Depression through the Civil Rights era and into the early 1970s.
The play explores the racism, patriarchy and established networks Chisholm faced, while showing how she refused to allow other people to decide the limits of her ambitions.
Her campaign slogan—“Unbought and Unbossed”—captured her independence and her determination to represent people who had been ignored or excluded from political life.
Although rooted in twentieth-century American history, the production raises questions that remain relevant today: who is allowed to hold power, whose voices are taken seriously and what it costs to challenge institutions that were not created with you in mind.
Shirley Chisholm: Unbossed and Unbowed won the 2023 Suzi Bass Award for Outstanding Production about Social Justice. Ingrid Griffith was also nominated for Outstanding Principal Performer in a Play.
For enquiries, contact pr@fpcomms.co.uk or call the Bernie Grant Arts Centre on 020 8365 5450.
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Shirley Chisholm: Unbossed and Unbowed
Ingrid Griffith brings the extraordinary life of political trailblazer Shirley Chisholm to the stage in an award-winning one-woman…