Box office: 020 7978 7040
Mya Onwugbonu and Theatre503 present...
London’s calling, but is Chardaye ready? LEI-LDN follows Chardaye, a mixed-race 17-year-old with a sharp tongue and a lot to say. Uprooted from Leicester to South London, she’s thrown into a world of aunties, accents, and unspoken rules. But where’s the rulebook on belonging?
When a series of racist events forces her from her home and her city, Chardaye must navigate life with a distant aunt — carrying the weight of proving herself in a world that keeps demanding definitions. The play explores the nuances of mixed identity while shining a light on the often-forgotten history of Britain’s “Brown Babies.”
Fresh from a celebrated debut at the Edinburgh Fringe — with a glowing 5-star review from Morning Star and multiple 4-star reviews — LEI-LDN now returns to London.
Writer and Performer, Na-keisha Pebody — shortlisted for Binge Fringe’s Black Outstanding Performer Award, shapes a narrative that feels both authentic and alive, drawing on her lived experiences and those of the mixed-race people around her.
Directed by Mya Onwugbonu, a multi-award-winning creative whose work spans theatre, poetry, and film, including the VAULT and Black British Theatre award-winning production Hear Me Now (Southwark Playhouse, VAULT Festival) and the Lift-Off Global Network-selected short poetic documentary Soldiers From Ends.
Together, they bring LEI-LDN to life: a raw, funny, and electric production that blends spoken word, movement, and comedy, while speaking directly to questions of identity, race and belonging.
All tickets are sold in line with our exchanges and refund policy which you can read on the Box Office page of our website, if the show is marked as SOLD OUT, please email boxoffice@theatre503.com to join the waiting list.
Running time: 60 minutes (no interval)
Age guidance: 14+
Content Warnings: This show contains themes that some audience members may find distressing. If this sounds like it could apply to you, you can view the content information by clicking the hyperlink.
Na-keisha Pebody
Na-keisha Pebody is a multidisciplinary writer, poet and actor from Leicester, now based in London. She trained at Identity School of Acting and is represented by Nina Malone at IDSA Talent and signed with IAG Commercials.
Her work centres Black and Brown stories, tackling issues that impact these communities with humour and heart. Early pieces include My Hood, a 10-minute work on knife crime, and I Believe, a site-specific piece set in a nightclub examining how systemic neglect allowed R. Kelly to evade justice and harm Black women.
Alongside theatre, poetry has become a key part of Na-keisha’s practice. What started four years ago as a creative outlet has grown into a 30-poem collection. She has performed at Hockley Hustle in Nottingham (2023), headlined Poetic Unity’s Poetry Foyer (2024), and was a finalist in the Somanic Slam Poetry competition (2025).
Her debut solo play LEI-LDN premiered at Croydonites Festival and was shortlisted for three awards at the Edinburgh Fringe – the Black Outstanding Performer Award, the Popcorn Award, and the Filipa Bragança Award.
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