Sarah-Jane Morgan, Worcester Live chief executive, on one of the local highlights of Black History Month

WE are delighted to be involved in Worcester’s first Black History month.

Over the years our stages have played host to great comedians such as Lenny Henry, Stephen K Amos and Reginald D Hunter as well as Worcester Rep actor David Harewood, who was recently appointed MBE for his services to acting, and the significant musicians Courtney Pine and Eric Bibb (his father, the late Leon Bibb was present at the Selma marches with Martin Luther King) to name but a few.

We never take for granted the vast quality of exceptional artists who pass through the Swan Theatre and Huntingdon Hall alongside a wide range of high quality tribute artists, many of whom have their routes of music embedded in black musical genres – soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, r&b, blues etc.

To mark Black History Month the Swan Theatre has worked with emerging local artists Aaron Corbett (writer and actor), Owen Harper (director) and Talia Crouch- Damianovsky (editor) to produce a short video called The Bigger Picture.

The piece aims to give a new perspective on the term ‘Black History’ and the effect that Black History Month can have on young people.

I was keen to engage Aaron and Owen on this project having recently attended an event where they performed, I was instantly impressed by their very honest, raw, thought-provoking performance regarding race and class.

The Bigger Picture, in Aaron’s words “doesn’t mention all the great things black people have achieved throughout history, because that film would be hours long. What it does do, is express that there is far more to black history than what we have been exposed to, and that having an entire month where children and adults are encouraged to delve deeper into their culture, will serve to educate, enlighten and inspire.”

Researching our venues’ links to Black History Month has achieved exactly what the embodiment of this month is for.

We hope you enjoy The Bigger Picture, which can be found on the Swan Facebook page @theswantheatre