A Theatre in London’s West End is planning to stage two special performances of its new show only for black people.

Slave Play, an adult show about the subject of race, is coming to the Noël Coward Theatre at the end of June for a 12-week run.

Two of its performances will be what are known as ‘black out’ performances, which are just for audience members who identify as black.

Black out nights were held for Slave Play when it was performed on Broadway in New York, and have been held for other plays in London before. The Theatre Royal Stratford East held black out nights last year, saying they give black people space to experience shows “free from the white gaze”.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the plans for black out performances “concerning” and said: “Restricting audiences on the basis of race would be wrong and divisive.”

The producers of the show stress that people of other races aren’t banned from attending any performance. They say that black people have felt unwelcome at the theatre in the past, and so have been specially invited to boost audience diversity. They added: “We want to increase accessibility to theatre for everyone.”