JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING is playing at the Lyric Hammersmith for a limited run until 25th April.
☆☆☆☆ ‘[…] a story about the strength of these women with a true sense of joy. You’d be hard-pressed to see anything else quite this alive and energised in the theatre.’ (The Guardian)
Welcome to Jaja’s! This bustling Harlem braiding salon is where neighbourhood women come to have their greatest hairstyle dreams come true, all in the hands of a lively group of West African immigrant braiders.
Across one hot summers day, these women experience everything in the pressure cooker of the sweltering shop: from demanding customers to secrets and lies, laughter and betrayal. But each of these women has big dreams as well, dreams which increasingly pit them against the city they call home.
The UK premiere of this Tony Award-winning comedy JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING reunites the team behind smash-hit School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play in writer Jocelyn Bioh and director Monique Touko.
Sign up to hear more about JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING theatre tickets with LOVEtheatre today!
The Lyric’s 2026 Season is supported by Mark & Sarah Crosbie.
‘Are we making money today or what?’
Step inside Jaja’s, a vibrant Harlem braiding salon where neighbourhood women gather to transform their hairstyle dreams into reality under the skilled hands of a spirited team of West African immigrant braiders. Over the course of one sweltering summer’s day, the salon becomes a pressure cooker of clashing personalities and heartfelt confessions.
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1hr 30 mins (no interval, subject to change)
Jocelyn Bioh (Writer), Monique Touko (Director), Gráinne Flynn (Assistant Director).
Paul Wills (Set Designer), Cynthia De La Rosa (Wigs, Hair & Make-Up Designer), Simisola Majekodunmi (Lighting Designer), Tony Gayle (Sound Designer), Kloé Dean (Movement Director), Julia Horan (Casting Director)
