Jaja's African Hair Braiding to return to Lyric Hammersmith
Jaja's African Hair Braiding is coming back to London.
The show will return to the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre from 28 January to 27 February 2027. The dates were reported on 30 September 2026, WhatsOnStage.
The run lasts five weeks. It brings the production back to the west London house where it had its UK premiere.
The comedy is set in a Harlem hair-braiding salon. The story plays out over a single summer's day. It follows West African immigrant braiders and the customers who sit in their chairs, talk, argue and laugh.
It is written by Jocelyn Bioh and directed by Monique Touko. The pair know each other well. They previously worked together at the Lyric on School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play in 2023.
Bioh put it plainly. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," she said of reuniting the team, adding that they "really smashed it the first time around."
Touko said what draws her to Bioh's writing is simple. "I am seen." She added that Bioh captures "the nuances of Black femininity" masterfully, and described the Jaja's script as "infused with comedy and heart."
The show started further afield. It premiered on Broadway, New York's main commercial theatre district, as part of Manhattan Theatre Club's 2023-2024 season. It then won two Tony Awards, Broadway's annual prizes, and toured the US.
The Lyric staged its UK premiere in March 2026. Bioh said British crowds made an impression. She described UK audiences for Jaja's as "more vocal than any American audience."
For anyone who missed it first time, this is a second chance. Same building. Same writer-director pairing. A new winter run.
