BiBi Crew, founded in 1991, was the first British comedy troupe to consist entirely of Black actresses.
In 1991, Joanne Campbell, Judith Jacob, Janet Kay, Suzette Llewellyn, Josephine Melville, Beverley Michaels and Suzanne Packer founded BiBi Crew in London.
[3] Campbell has stated that the group formed after a memorial benefit at the Theatre Royal Stratford East to celebrate the life of actor Calvin Simpson, in which a few of the troupe members participated.
[1]:74 They wrote, directed, produced and acted in their productions, which combined music, dance, drama and sketch comedy[1]:44 They were regular performers at the Theatre Royal Stratford East and contributed to the theatre's mission to reflect the diversity of Newham where it was located.
[9][10] Along with groups such as The Posse, they "introduced a new energized performance style into diasporic theatre in the early 1990s that was breaking away from old categories and attracting a black audience with sketch-like material, often highly political, rooted in common experience"[11]:195 Additionally, their performances at the Theatre Royal Stratford East helped to inspire the subsequent Asian revue series.