Jaja's African Hair Braiding at Lyric Hammersmith: Why You Should See This Show

Every so often a play arrives in London that feels genuinely essential — the kind of theatre that makes you laugh, cry, and see the world differently in the space of two hours. Jocelyn Bioh's Jaja's African Hair Braiding, now playing at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, is exactly that. This Tony Award-winning play has already captivated audiences on Broadway, and its London production — directed by Monique Touko — is earning rave reviews and standing ovations.

If you're looking for the best plays in London right now, this should be very near the top of your list. Here's everything you need to know.

What Is Jaja's African Hair Braiding?

Jaja's African Hair Braiding is a comedy-drama by Jocelyn Bioh, the Ghanaian-American playwright behind School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play. Bioh won the Tony Award for Best Play for Jaja's, which premiered on Broadway in 2023 to widespread acclaim.

The play is set entirely inside a bustling African hair braiding salon in Harlem, New York. Over the course of a single summer day, we meet the women who work there and the clients who come through the door — each arriving with a photo on their phone of the style they want, and each carrying their own story of immigration, ambition, love, and the daily negotiation of building a life in a new country.

It's a play about community, identity, and the bonds that form in the places where women gather. The hair salon as a setting is inspired — it's a space where intimacy happens naturally, where conversation flows between the deeply personal and the hilariously mundane, and where cultural traditions are literally woven into everyday life.

The Story: One Day in a Harlem Salon

The action unfolds in real time across a single day in Jaja's salon. Jaja, the salon's formidable owner, runs her business with fierce pride and exacting standards. Her team of braiders — each from a different West African country — work side by side, braiding elaborate styles while navigating their own dramas, rivalries, and friendships.

As customers arrive throughout the day, the salon becomes a microcosm of the immigrant experience in America. There are generational tensions between those who've been in the country for years and newer arrivals. There are romantic entanglements, family pressures, and the ever-present anxiety of visa status and documentation. But there's also tremendous joy, solidarity, and humour — the kind that comes from shared experience and mutual recognition.

Without giving too much away, the play builds to an emotional crescendo that reframes everything that came before. Bioh is masterful at layering comedy with genuine dramatic weight, so the moments that hit hardest arrive almost without warning.

Cast and Performances

The London cast is outstanding. Zainab Jah commands the stage as Jaja, bringing authority, warmth, and a sharp comedic instinct to the role of the salon owner who holds everything together. Sewa Zamba delivers a standout performance as Marie, while Jadesola Odunjo, babirye bukilwa, Bola Akeju, and Dolapo Oni each bring distinctive energy and depth to the ensemble of braiders and clients.

What makes this cast exceptional is the chemistry between them. The salon feels alive — conversations overlap, laughter erupts spontaneously, and the rhythms of work and talk create a naturalistic atmosphere that draws you in completely. Karene Peter, Dani Moseley, Renee Bailey, and Demmy Ladipo round out the ensemble in multiple roles, ensuring every customer who walks through the door feels like a fully realised character.

Director Monique Touko deserves enormous credit for orchestrating what is essentially a perfectly choreographed ensemble piece. The staging captures the controlled chaos of a real salon — braiders working at different stations, clients waiting on plastic chairs, phones buzzing — while keeping the storytelling focused and emotionally clear.

Paul Wills' set design faithfully recreates the salon environment, complete with the posters, product shelves, and fluorescent lighting that anyone who's visited an African hair braiding salon will instantly recognise. The wig design by Cynthia De La Rosa is another highlight — the braiding styles created on stage are genuinely intricate and beautiful.

Why This Play Works So Well

There are several reasons Jaja's African Hair Braiding resonates so powerfully. First, the cultural specificity. Bioh writes from a place of deep knowledge and affection for the community she's depicting. The details are authentic — the styles, the music, the banter, the dynamics between braiders and clients — and that authenticity is what makes the play feel universal rather than niche.

Second, the structure is deceptively clever. By containing the action to a single location and a single day, Bioh creates a pressure-cooker effect where tensions build naturally. Every new customer who walks in shifts the dynamics slightly. The real-time format means there's nowhere to hide — the comedy and the drama are happening simultaneously, just as they do in real life.

Third, the play humanises the immigrant experience without reducing it to a political talking point. These are complex, funny, flawed, ambitious women with their own dreams and contradictions. The play doesn't ask you to feel sorry for them — it asks you to see them. That's a much more powerful thing.

For London audiences, the play also offers a window into a specific corner of Black Atlantic culture that's vibrant and underrepresented on British stages. The Lyric Hammersmith, with its strong track record of championing diverse voices, is the perfect home for this production.

Booking and Practical Info

Jaja's African Hair Braiding runs at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre until 25 April 2026. Given the critical acclaim and limited run, tickets are selling fast — booking sooner rather than later is strongly recommended.

The Lyric Hammersmith is located in King Street, Hammersmith, a short walk from Hammersmith tube station (District, Piccadilly, and Hammersmith & City lines). The area has plenty of dining options for pre-show meals, including several restaurants along King Street and the nearby Hammersmith Broadway shopping centre.

If you're combining your visit with other London theatre, Hammersmith is well connected to the West End — it's roughly 20 minutes by tube to Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus. You could easily see a matinee at the Lyric and an evening show in the West End, or vice versa.

For visitors coming from outside London, check our hotel deals for accommodation near the West End, and browse flights to London if you're travelling from further afield. Our first-time West End guide covers everything from transport to pre-show dining.

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