By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN?: Saturday 14 November, opens 23 November and runs through 19 December 2026 RUNTIME: 190 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Calais Cameron follows the brilliant Olivier Award-nominated For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide …, which had several West End runs, with this visually impressive and wildly ambitious real life tale of 1964’s new Afrofuturistic space race contender Zambia.

• Read on for reasons including what small step would make a giant leap to help this reach for the stars to take flight

Lucian Msamati (Waiting For Godot, Theatre Royal Haymarket) plays Edward Nkoloso, a former World War Two veteran, science teacher and anti-colonial activist, who marks the 4 October 1964 independence of Zambia from the UK with a vow for his country to beat superpowers the US and Russia to the Moon.

Nkoloso dubbed his trainees the titular afronauts – a great title for this new play – and established the self-proclaimed Zambia National Academy of Science, Space Research and Philosophy on an abandoned farm roughly 11 kilometers outside of Lusaka.

It’s interesting subject matter for a play and the set design by Soutra Gilmour is fabulously 60s Bond villain lair with a revolving stage, rotating spherical space pod, dramatic curved walkway and sumptious aerial view of the night sky.

Pamela Nomvete (To Kill A Mockingbird, Gielgud Theatre) plays Grace who is tutoring the young afronauts and bringing a knowledge of spiritualism and witchcraft to their scientific study.

Ivanno Jeremiah (Constellations, Vaudeville Theatre) plays former NASA scientist Simon with a point to prove and Ama Qamata is the afronaut Matha chosen for the 1st ever attempted spacewalk.

We imagine Calais Cameron is interested in this not widely known material because it’s an example of afrofuturistic hope and ambition which at the time was derided by the BBC and never fully backed by the government with former president Kenneth Kaunda later saying: ‘It wasn’t a real thing … it was more for fun than anything else.’

Calais Cameron sweetens the dish with a romance between Matha and fellow afronaut David given life by Prince Kundai.

History tells us that the program never launched and requests for millions of dollars—including a 7 million Zambian pound (or $7 million) grant from UNESCO and appeals to foreign governments—were rejected or ignored.

Film Hidden Figures and Apple TV’s For All Mankind have both shown the importance of black scientists in the space race and The Afronauts shines a light on a no less interesting tale of ambition over expertise.

Our problem with it is that it needs a good edit currently and to lose at least half an hour before the doubtless fascinating story at its heart can be emphasised with the clarity it deserves.

That small step would make a giant leap to help this reach for the stars to take flight.

• Main pictures by via Facebook courtesy Royal Court Theatre Tickets
• Have you seen a Ryan Calais Cameron show before and what did you think of it? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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