Nina Simone’s story brought to life in ‘Black is the Color of My Voice’

Black is the Color of My Voice, written by Apphia Campbell and starring Nicholle Cherrie, is a play inspired by the life of famed singer, musician and activist Nina Simone.

Featuring many of Simone’s most iconic songs performed live, this acclaimed work, which is coming to the Cambridge Arts Theatre this week, follows a successful jazz singer and civil rights activist as she seeks redemption after the untimely death of her father.

She reflects on the journey that took her from a young piano prodigy destined for a life in the service of the church, to a renowned vocalist at the forefront of the civil rights movement.

Writer and “theatre-maker” Apphia Campbell, who is originally from the US – and who graduated from Florida International University with a BFA in theatre performance – spoke to the Cambridge Independent from her home in Edinburgh, where she has lived since 2015.

“The play is taken from a point in her [Nina Simone’s] autobiography where she had an argument with her father; her father passed away and they didn’t get to reconcile,” explains Apphia, “so she does this ritual where she isolates herself for three days.

“She doesn’t smoke or drink or talk to anyone, to try and reconcile with her father – and so the play takes place in these three days of this ritual and goes from her life as a child prodigy up until the civil rights movement.

“And we get to know the woman behind the music and understand her as a woman and her life.”

The show has played nationally and internationally, from Shanghai and New York to Edinburgh and London’s West End, where it premiered in 2019, receiving rave reviews and enjoying a sold-out run.

It recently toured Australia and won the ‘Best Theatre’ award at Adelaide Fringe 2024.

“I discovered Nina Simone when I was about 19,” reveals Apphia, whose other writing credits include the play Woke, a BBC children’s story titled Zachary the Zebroid, and Birdie’s Dilemma for Scenes for Survival, a collaboration between the BBC and NTS Scotland.

“I was at drama school and we all had to write one-person shows, and my friend was like ‘Why don’t you do Nina Simone?’ and I didn’t know about her then.

“But after university I went and started listening to her music and reading about her life – and I just fell in love with her.

“As a woman, I thought she was really brave and I just admired her conviction as well… And at the time when I wrote the piece, there wasn’t a lot about her that wasn’t a documentary, that wasn’t a movie or anything.

“So there were all of these kind of myths and stories around her and I wanted people to understand the woman behind the music and to understand how she could convey all of that emotion that she had.”

Nina Simone’s best-known songs include My Baby Just Cares for Me, Feeling Good, Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood and To Love Somebody.

Apphia says her favourite Nina Simone tune is Plain Gold Ring.

“I love that song, I love the piano intro,” she enthuses, “and I love the way she plays the piano as well and the space she gives.

“It’s one of my favourite songs to listen to, and I feel like there’s so much emotion in the way that she sings it.”

Apphia wrote Black is the Color of My Voice in 2013 when she was living in Shanghai. The play was performed there for the first time, and then in 2014 she brought it to the Edinburgh Festival.

Black is the Color of My Voice is on at the Cambridge Arts Theatre tomorrow (Thursday, 10 October) and Friday (11 October).

Visit cambridgeartstheatre.com for tickets, priced £25-£30. For more on Apphia Campbell, go to apphiacampbell.com.