Nine Sixteenths

In 2004, in the SuperBowl halftime show finale, 19 year old Justin Timberlake ripped off 37 year old Janet Jackson’s top. Her breast was exposed on screen for nine sixteenths of a second. A pop icon and role model for many black women, and an outspoken ally for the lgbtq community, the moment derailed Jackson’s career for many years, while Timberlake’s Thrived.

But who was invested in the backlash? What does all this have to say about the demographics of who controls the media, and the ways in which black women are scrutinised in the public eye?

Nine Sixteenths joins theatre maker Paula Varjack with choreographer/maker Pauline Mayers, actress/director Endy McKay, choreographer Julienne Doko, and poet/theatre-maker Livia Kojo Alour, for a cultural odyssey, to work out what happened and what is happening still…

Creative Producer Amy Merrigan
Producer Beth Sitek

Developed with Complicite'

Co-Commissioned by Pleasance & Cambridge Junction with support from the Stobbs New Ideas Fund

Supported using public funding through the National Lottery by Arts Council England & with funding from the Danish Arts Foundation

With further support from Proteus Theatre, Attenborough Arts Centre & Brixton House.

Praise for Paula Varjack's previous works
'Smart and original' The Stage
'Punchy and engaging' The List
'Opening both minds and hearts' Three Weeks