Nine Sixteenths
.jpg%3F2026-01-24T14%253A19%253A53.916Z&w=3840&q=85)
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 lgbtqI+ community, the moment derailed Jackson's career for many years, while Timberlake's thrived.
Co-commissioned: Cambridge Junction (Cambridge, United Kingdom)
Commissioned by: Complicité
Supported by: Stobbs New Ideas Fund, Pleasance & Brixton House (London, London, United Kingdom)
But who was invested in the backlash? Who became obsessed with blocking her success? Who joked over her humiliation? How have all those involved profited since?
What does all this have to say about the demographics of who controls the media, and the scrutinising of black women in the public eye?
Nine Sixteenths joins theatre maker Paula Varjack with choreographer/maker Pauline Edwards, actress/director Endy McKay and choreographer Julienne Doko for a cultural odyssey, to work out what happened, and what is happening still…
All tour dates will be fully BSL interpreted and include elements of integrated BSL throughout the show, delivered by the brilliant BSL interpreters Jacqui Beckford and Vinessa Brant.
Trailer
Photography by Roland Ramanan
Tour Dates
Showing 32 of 32 tour dates.
Subscribe to my newsletter