Designing Deep Azure
The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse has been transformed into ‘The Church of Metamorphosis’ for the UK premiere of Deep Azure.
Every reference and image in Deep Azure carries meaning – from the moon overhead to the figures honoured throughout the space. Together, they form a visual language of transformation, grief and legacy.
The Space: From Playhouse to Church
The centre piece of the Celestial Ceiling of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse depicts Luna, the Roman Goddess of the moon. For this UK premiere, central character ‘Azure’ played by Selina Jones, has inspired our new Luna figure, who is painted in keeping with the original Sam Wanamaker ceiling.
The moon has significant cultural and spiritual importance across many cultures, symbolising fertility — with the lunar cycle echoing the menstrual cycle — as well as new beginnings and life cycles. In alchemy, the word Luna is also used to denote silver.
Architecturally, the silver chrome spheres act as a conduit from the heavens to the earth. ‘Deep Azure’ is often referred to as the colour of the sky, the space that lives between the celestial and the humans.
The spheres themselves also depict the distortion of the self through warped reflections, echoing Azure’s distortion of her self-image and personal conflict.
The Origin: Prince Jones Jr. and the Writing of Deep Azure
At the heart of Deep Azure is a real and devastating loss inspired by true events. On 1 September 2000, 25-year-old Prince Jones, Jr. was killed by a police officer. He was a beloved son, brother, fiancé, new father, and friend to many; but most of all, he was a scholar whose dreams were cut short by racial profiling and excessive police force.
“Let us…
…lie to you and bridge the gap ‘tween fact and fiction,
and while this our tale spins, know no contradiction.”
PRINCE CARMEN "ROCKY" JONES JR. (1975 – 2000)
At the time of his death, Prince was months shy of obtaining his degree from Howard University (often referred to as “the Mecca” of Black academia). His mother, Dr. Mable Jones, accepted his degree posthumously in May 2001.
At Howard, Prince was a classmate of Chadwick Boseman. Deep Azure was written in response to his death.
The Prince Jones, Jr. Foundation was created in 2017, to both honour Prince and to ensure his legacy would not be overshadowed by how his life ended.
Find out more at https://www.pjjrf.org/.
“… I open up the door pitiful. ‘Is he in critical?’ Retaliation for this
won’t be minimal / Cause I’m a criminal way before the rap sh*t.”
Deep Azure is influenced by the poetry of Shakespeare and powered by the pulse of Hip-Hop theatre. In addition to the writer, the curtained doors to the Sam Wanamaker are now adorned with some of the most influential Black American music artists of the 20th century. Singers and Rappers who revolutionised popular culture and helped to shape and define a Black American cultural legacy.
CHADWICK BOSEMAN (1976-2020)
In this image Chadwick is seen wearing custom Atelier Versace for 2018 Met Gala “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”. Textile frame inspired by Chadwick Boseman’s African heritage, traced to the Yoruba people of Nigeria and the Limba and Krio peoples of Sierra Leone.
“And when I did open his play I saw what I did say to others and what they
had said to me. On that night, when I saw how well he drew me,
I felt like he truly knew me.”
Chadwick Boseman (1976-2020), writer of Deep Azure, was an Academy Award– and BAFTA-nominated actor, director and writer. His acting credits included T’Challa (“Black Panther”) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Levee in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Jackie Robinson in 42.
A native of South Carolina, Boseman studied Directing at Howard University in Washington D.C. and attended the Oxford Summer Programme at the British American Drama Academy (BADA). His play Deep Azure premiered at the Chernin Center for the Arts in Chicago in 2005 and was nominated for a 2006 Jeff Award for Best New Work.
His breakout performance came in 2013 when he slid into the weighty shoes of Jackie Robinson in 42. His portrayal would be the first in a long list of American heroes he would personify.
Boseman received numerous accolades for his masterful portrayal of James Brown in Get On Up, a role that would set him apart and establish him as a leading man in the industry. He next starred in the title role of Marshall, which follows a young Thurgood Marshall as he battles through a career-defining case.
Boseman then joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the African superhero “Black Panther” in Captain America: Civil War. This marked the film debut for the character, T’Challa. Boseman brought the character to the forefront starring in his own solo film, Black Panther, which broke global box office records and had social and cultural impact around the world. The film received seven Academy Award nominations, including Marvel’s first-ever Best Picture nomination. Boseman won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture alongside the film’s ensemble.
In 2019, Boseman starred in 21 Bridges, which he produced with his partner Logan Coles, through their production shingle X●ception Content and in 2020, he appeared in Da 5 Bloods, directed by Academy Award winner Spike Lee, as fallen soldier “Stormin’ Norman”. His final appearance was in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, a screen adaptation of the famed August Wilson play, for which he was posthumously awarded a Golden Globe Award in 2021.
Throughout his career the edification of Black folk, through the art of storytelling, remained cornerstone.
The Ancestors: Cultural Figures Woven into the Design
These figures are woven into the theatre’s design not as decoration, but as ancestors – artists whose voices, losses and legacies echo the themes of Deep Azure and the lives it honours.
THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G (1972 – 1997)
Tapestry inspired by Smalls’ Jamaican immigrant parents, Voletta Wallace and Selwyn George Latore.
Christopher George Latore Wallace (21 May 1972 – 9 March 1997), known professionally as The Notorious B.I.G., Biggie, or Biggie Smalls, was an American rapper and songwriter widely considered one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, he became the central figure of 1990s East Coast hip-hop, known for his laid-back lyrical delivery, storytelling abilities, and tales of criminality and celebration.
He was 24 years old when he was shot and killed in 1997 in Los Angeles, a murder that has never been solved.
Find out more here Biggie Smalls – Songs, Death & Tupac.
Tupac Amaru Shakur also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most controversial artists of all time.
He is among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Some of Shakur’s music addressed social injustice, political issues, and the marginalization of Black Americans.
Tupac became a defining voice of the West Coast gangsta rap genre before his unsolved murder at age 25.
Find out more here 2PAC – Official Website.
TUPAC SHAKUR (1971 – 1996)
Peruvian tapestry inspired by Shakur’s name sake Túpac Amaru II, a 18th-century revolutionary who led an indigenous uprising against Spanish rule in Peru.
AALIYAH (1979 – 2001)
Aaliyah was of Jamaican and Native American ancestry. Tapestry border inspired by the Native American Oneida textile.
Aaliyah Dana Haughton an American singer, actress, dancer, and model. Known as the “Princess of R&B” and “Queen of Urban Pop”, she is credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop, and hip hop.
Aaliyah’s accolades include three American Music Awards and two MTV VMAs, along with five Grammy Award nominations.
On 25 August 2001, at the age of 22, Aaliyah was killed in a plane crash along with eight other people on board.
Find out more here Aaliyah – The Official Website of Aaliyah.
Lisa Nicole Lopes, also known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. She was a member of the R&B girl group TLC, alongside Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas. Known for her bold, uncompromising artistry, Lopes engineered the group’s brand of empowered womanhood that vaulted the trio to the top of the pop charts. She also designed some of their costumes and the stage design for their FanMail Tour and contributed to the group’s image, album titles, artworks, and music videos. Through her work with TLC, Lopes won four Grammy Awards.
On 25 April 2002, with her solo album Supernova yet to be formally released and a fourth TLC album in production, Lopes was killed in a car accident on a highway in Roma, Honduras. She was 30 years old.
Find out more here ABOUT | llf2017.
LISA ‘LEFT EYE’ LOPES (1971 – 2002)
Lopes was of Cape Verdean, African-American, and possibly other, descent. Textile frame inspired by Panu di tera (Country Cloth), the traditional handwoven, striped, or geometric-patterned textile of Cape Verde.
ELLA FITZGERALD (1917 – 1996)
Fitzgerald is seen here surrounded by Pan African textile.
Dubbed “The First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than half a century. In her lifetime, she won 13 Grammy awards and sold over 40 million albums. Known for her pure tone, impeccable diction, and scat singing, she rose from a troubled, impoverished childhood to become a transformational musical artist and a trailblazer against racial prejudice.
Her voice was flexible, wide-ranging, accurate and ageless. Ella first recorded the Duke Ellington “Azure” in 1957.
Find out more here Home – Ella Fitzgerald.
Sylvester James Jr., known simply as Sylvester, was an American singer-songwriter. Primarily active in the genres of disco, rhythm and blues, and soul, he was known for his flamboyant and androgynous appearance, falsetto singing voice, and hit disco singles in the late 1970s and 1980s.
During the late 1970s, Sylvester gained the moniker “Queen of Disco,” and during his lifetime he attained particular recognition in San Francisco, where he was awarded the key to the city after his iconic War Memorial Opera House show, in 1979.
Sylvester was an activist who campaigned against the spread of HIV/AIDS. He died from complications arising from the virus in 1988, leaving all future royalties from his work to San Francisco-based HIV/AIDS charities Project Open Hand and AIDS Emergency Fund.
Find out more here About – Sylvester.
SYLVESTER (1947 – 1988)
MA RAINEY (1886 – 1939)
Often called the “Mother of the Blues,” Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey was known for her deep-throated voice and mesmerising stage presence that drew packed audiences and sold hit records in the early twentieth century. Also a songwriter, her lyrics and melodies reflected her experiences as an independent, openly bisexual African-American woman.
Rainey was influential for bridging the traditions of vaudeville and authentic Southern blues. The blues descended from the call-and-response storytelling songs of West Africa. Rainey’s strong voice and characteristic “moaning” style of singing also fuelled her success. A vibrant stage presence, she was known for her gold teeth, flashy clothing and jewellery, and establishing a personal connection with her audiences.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, the 2020 film directed by George C. Wolfe, based on the 1982 play of the same name by August Wilson, starred Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman in his final film role as trumpeter Levee Green.
Find out more here Gertrude “Ma” Rainey – New Georgia Encyclopaedia.
Together, these symbols, stories and lives transform the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse into a space of remembrance, metamorphosis and worship.
Deep Azure, directed by Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu, plays until 11 April 2026 in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.
