Prejudice, equality, immigration, the Black Lives Matter movement – hardly a day goes by without these subjects hitting the headlines. White Is The New Black tackles these emotive themes in two short plays telling the human stories behind the headlines, and weaving the personal and the political – but not always as you’d expect.

In The Last Appointment by Nicola Gardner, middle class GP Jo Davis comes face to face with outspoken Black Lives Matter activist Aretha. In a darkly comic encounter with an unexpected twist, things get heated, and personal, as both women stand up for what they believe in. Can they put their differences aside and see their shared humanity beneath the facade of race, colour and nationality?

In Florence – The Fight Of Her Life by Maurice Bessman, African asylum seeker Florence is caught up in the government’s rush to rid British shores of immigrants. In a case of human suffering versus bureaucracy, Florence’s survival depends on her appeal to immigration officer Mrs Lewis. Can she appeal to Mrs Lewis as one woman to another, one mother to another?

Starring Manchester based actors Nicola Gardner and Jennifer Banks, the double-bill White Is The New Black will be playing as part of the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival on Fri 21 July and Sat 22 July 2017. Buy tickets for either date now.