Archive Unboxed: Alterations at the National Theatre

This spring, we’re reviving Michael Abbensetts’s 1978 play Alterations.

The play came to the attention of the National Theatre through the Black Plays Archive (BPA), an ongoing digital archive project that catalogues the first professional production in the UK of plays written by Black British, African, and Caribbean playwrights. Alterations is one of over 800 plays that sit within the BPA, each being catalogued to remember and celebrate the works of Black playwrights.

Set in a pared back tailor’s shop on Carnaby Street, the play follows Walker Holt, a headstrong West Indian immigrant desperate to establish himself by buying his own shop.

The play chronicles the trials of Walker, his best friend Buster, his rival Horace, his wife Darlene, and Courtney, the shop’s young delivery driver, as the rush to alter hundreds of pairs of trousers for Mr. Nat takes its toll.

Alterations was originally staged in 1978 at the New End Theatre in North London, starring Don Warrington (Death in Paradise) in the role of Walker Holt.

The play was subsequently revived in 1986 at Theatre Royal Stratford East, then starring Rudolph Walker (Love Thy Neighbor, EastEnders) in the principal role.

Visit the Alterations page on the Black Plays Archive

This 2025 revival of Alterations at the National seeks to bring Abbensetts’ play into the 21st century, with additional material added by the celebrated playwright and author Trish Cooke, whose own work is catalogued in the BPA.

In this video Cooke explores her role as Additional Material writer for Alterations, discussing the challenge between preserving the original script written in 1978 and updating it for modern audiences.

Michael Abbensetts was born in Guyana (then British Guyana) and moved to London in 1963. His debut play Sweet Talk  premiered at the Royal Court Theatre a decade later in 1973.

Abbensetts wrote for television as well as theatre, creating the hit TV series Empire Road in 1978, the first British TV series to be predominantly created and performed by Black talent.

A contemporary of playwrights like Mustapha Matura and Alfred Fagon, Abbensetts worked with familiar names like Norman Beaton (Desmond’s), Mona Hammond (White Teeth), and Stephen Kalipha (Babylon). Abbensetts plays include The Lion (pictured), The Outlaw, In the Mood, El Dorado, Sweet Talk, and Samba. After passing away in 2016, a blue plaque was erected in 2023 to remember Abbensetts, located outside his former home in Kilburn.

Arinzé Kene is taking to the Lyttelton stage this year as Alterations‘ protagonist, Walker Holt. In addition to being an acclaimed actor, Kene is also a celebrated playwright.

Explore plays like Arinze Kene’s Misty, Winsome Pinnock’s Leave Taking, Roy Williams’ Death of England trilogy and hundreds more in the Black Plays Archive.

To learn more about these productions, visit the Black Plays Archive.

You can also read more about Black Plays at the National Theatre in our Google Arts and Culture online exhibition.