The Aunties: House of Masks

by Oluwatosin Omotosho

Dance

An image of five black women stood outside a fresh grocery store. Four of the women are wearing traditional African dress.

The Aunties: The House of Masks is a theatre and dance piece exploring the world of the “African aunties” we all know, armed with judgements, unfiltered opinions, gossip and secrets of their own.

Through movement, comedy, poetry and music, the piece follows a young woman from the African diaspora, navigating cultural pressure around marriage, success and identity. Beneath the glamour, gele headwraps and sharp tongues, each aunty hides her own secrets. It’s funny, honest and deeply human, asking what masks we wear to survive tradition, expectation and community.

An image of five black women wearing traditional African dress and carrying oranges, stood in a fresh grocery store.

An image of five black women wearing traditional African dress stood at a bus stop in front of a London red bus

An image of five black women wearing traditional African dress stood at a London bus stop waiting for a bus.

About Oluwatosin Omotosho

Oluwatosin Omotosho is a Nigerian-born, London-based Dance Artist and Choreographer working across theatre, commercial dance, film and television. Her practice fuses hip-hop, street styles, Afro-dance, Jazz and contemporary with spoken word and text. She’s worked with artists including Little Simz, TYLA, Lenny Kravitz, RAYE, Cleo Sol and Chaka Khan, performing on stages such as Glastonbury, BRIT Awards and MTV EMAs.

Her theatre credits include Cabaret musical, Movement Direction for Frontline (LAMDA), The Headwrap Diaries (Uchenna Dance) and Rumble in the Jungle. She is currently creating her original work, The Aunties: House of Masks with support from The Place & GDIF. It explores identity, culture, and emotional truth, centering Black British and African diaspora experiences with humour, vulnerability, and depth.

Funding, commissioning and partner credits:

The Project was initially funded by The Place via Choreodrome in Summer 2025 and then supported with seed funding by GDIF later in 2025 to adapt the show for the outdoor for GDIF.