We Speak Events

Lupita Nyong’o, Black Thought, Storm Reid and Baratunde Thurston Among Performers at “MLK Now 2018

Published

7 years ago

January 9, 2018

Third Annual Event Organized by Blackout for Human Rights to be held on MLK Day (Jan. 15th) at Riverside Church in Harlem, NY; Hosted in partnership with Campaign for Black Male Achievement, Color of Change, PICO National Network, and The Root

Blackout for Human Rights will host its 3rd Annual “MLK Now”, a free event celebrating the words and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Hosted in partnership with the Campaign for Black Male Achievement (CBMA), Color of Change, PICO National Network, and The Root, MLK Now 2018 will feature Oscar-Winner and BLACK PANTHER star Lupita Nyong’o, Grammy-Winning Hip Hop MC/Lyricist Black Thought of The Roots, and A WRINKLE IN TIME star Storm Reid, with Comedian and Author Baratunde Thurston returning this year as event M.C. Additional performers for MLK Now 2018 will be announced later this week.

Since 2016, MLK Now has brought together a cross-section of artists, performers and thought-leaders to pay homage to Dr. King and other revolutionary figures throughout history. Influential artists and entertainers that have performed at MLK Now include Chris Rock, Olivia Wilde, Q-Tip, Harry Belafonte, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Octavia Spencer, Michael B. Jordan, Omari Hardwick, Olivia Wilde, Uzo Aduba, Andre Holland, Anika Noni Rose, J. Cole, Adepero Oduye, India.Arie, and more. Admission to MLK Now is FREE and open to the public.

The talent line-up for MLK Now will be announced in the coming days! For real-time updates, check back here or follow the hashtag #MLKNow2018.

*PLEASE BE ADVISED:

Due to high attendance, entrance to the event is not guaranteed without pre-registration.

Doors open at 12:30p and will close at 1:50p so that the program may begin promptly at 2:00p. There is no reserved seating (all will be on a first-come, first-serve basis) so please arrive on time!

For security reasons, we highly advise against bringing large bags and/or purses to the event, which would slow down the check-in process and may cause additional delays

For more info, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mlk-now-2018-tickets-41849036595?aff=erelexpmlt

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We Speak Comedy

Caitlin Cook’s Musical Bathroom Odyssey Hits the UK

Published

1 day ago

May 9, 2025

Joni Jones

What do cowboy dicks, milk pistols, and public toilet walls have in common? They all find a strange kind of poetry in The Writing on the Stall, the wildly inventive musical comedy from US performer Caitlin Cook, landing in the UK this summer. After sold-out runs Off-Broadway, at Edinburgh Fringe, and in London, the New York Times Critic’s Pick returns for a short UK tour—playing Brighton’s Komedia (31 May & 1 June) and Soho Theatre, London (4–7 June).

Set entirely in a public bathroom, The Writing on the Stall is anything but private. In this whip-smart and wickedly funny one-woman musical, Cook dives into the scrawled messages and mysterious wisdom etched on cubicle walls and turns them into something bold, bizarre, and unexpectedly moving. The songs are catchy, the jokes are razor-sharp, and the show isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty—literally.

Armed with a guitar and a knack for digging gold out of the obscene, Cook crafts a genre-defying hour that’s part stand-up, part cabaret, and all catharsis. This is confessional comedy with clever hooks, pitch-perfect melodies, and enough surprises to keep your eyebrows permanently raised. Expect satire, sincerity, and some surreal props—rumour has it a pair of slingshotted knickers makes a cameo.

Caitlin Cook isn’t your average musical comic. She’s Oxford-educated, New York-hardened, and streaming in the tens of millions. She’s also collaborated with some of comedy’s finest, directed offbeat hits, and performs as one-half of the musical duo 2/3rds of a Threesome. With this new UK run, she’s not just touring a show—she’s building a movement that blurs the lines between comedy, theatre, and performance art.

If you missed her during her Edinburgh frenzy, this is your chance to catch the musical everyone’s been whispering about in pub toilets and shouting about in five-star reviews. You might come for the laughs, but you’ll stay for the songs that (fair warning) may live rent-free in your head for months.