Anni Domingo

Last updated

Anni Domingo
Born1950s
London, England
Education Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama
The Open University
Anglia Ruskin University
Occupation(s)Actress, director and writer
Notable workBreaking the Maafa Chain (2021)
Awards Myriad Editions First Novel competition, 2018

Anni Domingo (born 1950s) [1] is a British actress, director and writer, working in theatre, television, radio and films. She additionally holds positions on the boards of several organisations in various sectors, and has said: "You can't make a difference unless you have a seat at the table." [2] Her writing includes plays, poetry and fiction, with her debut novel Breaking the Maafa Chain published in 2021. [3]

Contents

Background and career

Anni Domingo was born in London, England, to Sierra Leonean parents, who when she was four years old decided to go back to their birth country so that their children would grow up with African culture. [4] She attended school in Freetown (St Joseph's Convent School and Freetown Secondary School for Girls), [1] [5] going on to further education in the UK, where she pursued an ambition to act. [4]

She applied for and was accepted on a drama course to train as a performer, also qualifying in her early 20s as a teacher of Speech and Drama at Rose Bruford College, and during her three years studying there she worked for the BBC at Bush House on radio plays to be broadcast in the Commonwealth. [6] When in her mid-50s, over a seven-year period she earned a first-class BA Honours degree in Literature, another BA Honours degree (first-class) in Humanities with Creative Writing from The Open University, and an MA in Creative Writing from Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, later receiving the honorary degree of Doctor of Humanities. [2] [7] [8]

Her acting career encompasses theatre, television, radio and film, with on-screen appearances in numerous TV series and feature films ranging from Outland (1981) [9] to Wondrous Oblivion (2003). [10] [11] More recently, in 2019 she appeared in several episodes of BBC One's EastEnders , and on stage in Inua Ellams' adaptation of Three Sisters at the National Theatre. [2] [12] Her theatre work over the years has included Blood Wedding at the National, Treasure Island at Birmingham Rep, The Last Bloom at Traverse Theatre, The Crucible at Regent's Park, The Children's Hour and Yerma at the Royal Exchange, Blithe Spirit at the Leicester Haymarket, and No Boys Cricket Club at Theatre Royal Stratford East. [13]

Among other work that Domingo undertakes is radio broadcasting, as well as lecturing (at such institutions as St Mary's University, Twickenham, and Rose Bruford College) and directing at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), the Central School of Speech and Drama) and elsewhere, recent productions being Ilé la Wà ("We are Home") [14] by Tolu Agbelusi at Stratford Circus in 2019, and The Story of John Archer [15] at Battersea Arts Centre in 2021. [2]

As a Shakespearean actor, [16] Domingo has toured extensively in Europe, the US and Australia. [3] She started a company called Shakespeare Link through which she runs workshops on William Shakespeare in schools, youth clubs and theatres, and she has written several workbooks on Shakespeare that are used in schools. [17] She has also written children's plays, short stories and poetry, and her poem "The Cutting" is published in the text of Bullet Hole, a 2018 play about female genital mutilation, in which she played the lead role at the Park Theatre. [18]

Domingo's debut novel, Breaking the Maafa Chain, was shortlisted in the 2014 Lucy Cavendish College Fiction Prize, [19] won the 1918 Myriad Editions First Drafts Competition, [20] is extracted in Margaret Busby's 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa , [21] and was published by Jacaranda Books in 2021. [22] Breaking the Maafa Chain is an "epic historical novel" based on the true story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, an abolitionist and goddaughter of Queen Victoria. [23] [24] [25]

In 2019, Domingo won a place at Hedgebrook, a retreat for women writers, and on the National Centre for Writing's "Escalator" programme, enabling her to begin working on her second novel, Ominira. [22]

She was awarded a Harold Moody Postgraduate Research Studentship, launched in 2021, to undertake a PhD at King's College London, investigating how black Victorians have been portrayed in literature based on the media 1850–1880. [26]

Domingo is a trustee of Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, [27] and is a member of the board of Sheffield Theatres Trust. [28] [29] [30] She also has voluntary roles with other initiatives particularly concerned with improving diversity and inclusion in the creative industries. [31]

In January 2022, she was appointed chair of Theatre Peckham, one of London's leading community-led theatres and learning academies, with the company's patrons including John Boyega, Jenny Agutter and Paulette Randall. [2] [32] [33] [34]

Other activities and personal life

Domingo has three children and, alongside working in the arts, has served as a magistrate in Cambridgeshire. [35]

Bibliography

Selected awards and recognition

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne</span> English poet and philosopher (1623–1673)

Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne was a prolific English philosopher, poet, scientist, fiction writer and playwright. In her lifetime she produced more than 12 original literary works, many of which became well known due to her high social status. This high social status allowed Margaret to meet and converse with some of the most important and influential minds of her time.

Simon Rouse is an English actor, known for playing the role of Detective Chief Inspector, later Superintendent, Jack Meadows in the long-running ITV police drama The Bill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Marcell</span> British actor

Joseph Marcell is a Saint Lucian-British actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Geoffrey Butler, the butler on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from September 1990 until the show ended in May 1996.

James Warwick is an English actor and theatre director, best known for his roles on television and his theatre work in London's West End and New York's Broadway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adjoa Andoh</span> British actress (born 1963)

Adjoa Aiboom Helen Andoh HonFRSL is a British actress. On stage, she has played lead roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre and the Almeida Theatre. On television, she appeared in two series of Doctor Who as Francine Jones, 90 episodes of the BBC's long-running medical drama Casualty, and BBC's EastEnders. Andoh made her Hollywood debut in autumn 2009, starring as Nelson Mandela's Chief of Staff Brenda Mazibuko alongside Morgan Freeman as Mandela in Clint Eastwood's drama film Invictus. Since 2020, she portrays Lady Danbury in the Netflix Regency romance series Bridgerton. In July 2022, Andoh became an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose Bruford College</span> Hgher Education Institution in Greater London

Rose Bruford College is a Higher Education Institution in the Greater London borough of Bexley. Bruford has degree programmes in acting, actor musicianship, directing, theatre arts and various disciplines of stagecraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hayley Atwell</span> British and American actress (born 1982)

Hayley Elizabeth Atwell is a British and American actress. After appearing on various West End productions, Atwell gained popularity for her roles in period-drama films, appearing in the films Brideshead Revisited (2008), The Duchess (2008) and the miniseries The Pillars of the Earth (2010); for the latter two, she was nominated for a British Independent Film Award and a Golden Globe Award respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eve Best</span> British actress (born 1971)

Emily "Eve" Best is an English actress and director. She is known for her television roles as Dr. Eleanor O'Hara in the Showtime series Nurse Jackie (2009–2013), First Lady Dolley Madison in the American Experience television special (2011), Monica Chatwin in the BBC miniseries The Honourable Woman (2014) and Princess Rhaenys Targaryen in HBO’s House of the Dragon. She also played Wallis Simpson in the 2010 film The King's Speech.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Django Bates</span> British composer, musician, band leader and educator (born 1960)

Django Bates is a British jazz musician, composer, multi-instrumentalist, band leader and educator. He plays the piano, keyboards and the tenor horn. Bates has been described as "one of the most talented musicians Britain has produced... his work covers the entire spectrum of jazz, from early jazz through to bebop and free jazz to jazz-rock fusion."

Tanika Gupta is a British playwright. Apart from her work for the theatre, she has also written scripts for television, film and radio plays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josie Rourke</span> English theatre and film director

Josie Rourke is an English theatre and film director. She is a Vice-President of the London Library and was the artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse theatre from 2012 to 2019. In 2018, she made her feature film debut with the Academy Award and BAFTA-nominated historical drama Mary Queen of Scots, starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie.

Chris Bush is a British playwright and artistic director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernardine Evaristo</span> British author and academic (born 1959)

Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo is a British author and academic. Her novel Girl, Woman, Other jointly won the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood's The Testaments, making her the first Black woman to win the Booker. Evaristo is Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University London and President of the Royal Society of Literature, the second woman and the first black person to hold the role since it was founded in 1820.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucy Prebble</span> British playwright (born 1980)

Lucy AshtonPrebble is a British playwright and producer. She has received numerous accolades including three Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for a BAFTA Award as well as two Laurence Olivier Awards.

Myriad Editions is an independent UK publishing house based in Brighton and Hove, Sussex, specialising in topical atlases, graphic non-fiction and original fiction, whose output also encompasses graphic novels that span a variety of genres, including memoir and life writing, as well political non-fiction. The company was set up in 1993 by Anne Benewick, together with Judith Mackay, as a packager of infographic atlases.

Lucy Bailey is a British theatre director, known for productions such as Baby Doll at Britain's National Theatre and a notorious Titus Andronicus, described by a critic as "all eye-catchingly visceral but there’s little depth". Bailey founded the Gogmagogs theatre-music group (1995–2006) and was Artistic Director and joint founder of the Print Room theatre in West London (2010-2012). She has worked extensively with Bunny Christie and other leading stage designers, including her husband William Dudley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosalie Craig</span> English actress (born 1981)

Rosalie Mae Craig is an English actress, noted for her performances in musical theatre. In 2013 she received her first major award, a London Evening Standard Award for Best Performance in a Musical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ade Solanke</span> British-Nigerian playwright and screenwriter

Adeola Solanke FRSA, commonly known as Ade Solanke, is a British-Nigerian playwright and screenwriter. She is best known for her debut stage play, Pandora's Box, which was produced at the Arcola Theatre in 2012, and was nominated as Best New Play in the Off West End Theatre Awards. Her other writing credits include the award-winning BBC Radio drama series Westway and the Nigerian feature film Dazzling Mirage (2014). She is the founder and creative director of the company Spora Stories, whose aim is to "create original drama for stage and screen, telling the dynamic stories of the African diaspora." Solanke has previously worked as an arts journalist and in radio and television, and in 1988 set up Tama Communications, offering a writing and publicity service, whose clients included the BBC, the Arts Council and the Midland Bank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Limb</span> British educationalist, business leader and philanthropist

Dame Ann Geraldine Limb is a British educationalist, business leader, charity chair and philanthropist. In September 2015, she became the first woman Chair of The Scout Association since the organization was founded by Robert Baden Powell in 1907. Limb also serves as the 789th High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, the first Quaker to hold this office.

<i>Six</i> (musical) British musical comedy

Six is a British musical comedy in the style of a pop concert. Music, book, and lyrics by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. It is a modern retelling of the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII, presented in the form of a singing competition. In the show, each of the wives take turns telling their story to determine who suffered the most from their shared husband.

References

  1. 1 2 Busby, Margaret, ed. (2022). "Anni Domingo". New Daughters of Africa (paperback ed.). London: Penguin Books. p. 163.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Theatre Peckham Announces New Chair Dr. Anni Domingo". Theatre Peckham. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Interview with Anni Domingo". Alt A Review. 5 February 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Late bloomers on stage together again". Glasgow Evening Times . 7 April 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  5. ↑ "anni Domingo". SLWS. Sierra Leone Writing Series. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  6. ↑ Byrne, John (25 April 2017). "My First Job: Anni Domingo – 'my father changed his tune after seeing me on stage'". The Stage . Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  7. ↑ "Creative Industries student and alumni success". Anglia Ruskin University ARU. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  8. ↑ Barnes, JJ (21 October 2021). "Author Interview – Anni Domingo – Breaking The Maafa Chain". The Table Read. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  9. ↑ "Outland (1981) | Full Cast & Crew", IMDb.
  10. ↑ "Wondrous Oblivion (2003) | Full Cast & Crew", IMDb.
  11. ↑ "Anni Domingo | Highlighted works". BFI. Archived from the original on 28 May 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  12. ↑ Clement, Olivia (12 December 2019). "Read Reviews for Inua Ellams' Three Sisters Adaptation in London". Playbill . Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  13. ↑ "Anni Domingo". National Theatre. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  14. ↑ "Ilé La Wà (We Are Home) | Director Anni Domingo on the play". 14 June 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2022– via YouTube.
  15. ↑ "Anni Domingo". Black Heroes Foundation. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  16. ↑ "Anni Domingo". BBA Shakespeare. University of Warwick . Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  17. ↑ "Anni Domingo". Sierra Leone Writers Series. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  18. ↑ Truman, Jill (10 October 2018). "Theatre Review: Bullet Hole, Park Theatre, Finsbury Park". Islington Gazette . Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  19. ↑ "Literary awards follow Anni Domingo's Fiction Prize success". Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  20. ↑ Murua, James (14 November 2018). "Anni Domingo, Rutendo Chabikwa Win Myriad Manuscript Prize 2018". Writing Africa. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  21. ↑ Truman, Jill (23 October 2020). "Case study: Anni Domingo". National Centre for Writing . Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  22. 1 2 "Anni Domingo". Jacarnda Books. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  23. ↑ "A Novel Review by Acclaimed Actress, Director, and Writer Anni Domingo". The African Magazine. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022– via pr.com.
  24. ↑ Morris, Kristine (January–February 2022). "Breaking the Maafa Chain". Foreword Reviews. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  25. ↑ Nesbitt-Ahmed, Zahrah (10 October 2021). "Book Review: Breaking the Maafa Chain". Rewrite. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  26. ↑ "Harold Moody Studentships". King's College London. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  27. ↑ "Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance". Giving is Great. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  28. ↑ "Sheffield Theatres welcomes new trustees to the Board". Sheffield. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  29. ↑ Wild, Stephi (27 August 2021). "Sheffield Theatres Welcomes New Trustees To Their Board". Broadway World . Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  30. ↑ Peace, Lee (27 August 2021). "New trustees join board at Sheffield Theatres". Sheffield Star . Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  31. ↑ "Black stars back Brixton-based drive for film and TV diversity". Brixton Blog. 24 July 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  32. ↑ "Theatre Peckham announces appointment of its new chair". Northern Echo . 25 January 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  33. ↑ Campbell, Joel (26 January 2022). "Theatre Peckham brings in new chair Dr. Anni Domingo". The Voice . Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  34. ↑ Fisk, Hattie (26 January 2022). "Theatre Peckham announces Dr Anni Domingo as new chair". Drama & Theatre. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  35. 1 2 "2014 Fiction Prize shortlist". lucy.cam.ac.uk. Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge. 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  36. ↑ "Breaking the Maafa Chain", Jacaranda Books.
  37. ↑ "Breaking the Maafa Chain", Simon & Schuster.
  38. ↑ "BEFFTA Awards | Full List of BEFFTA UK 2015 Awards Winners". baroness-j.com. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  39. ↑ "First Drafts Competition | First Drafts 2018—joint winners". Myriad. Retrieved 9 November 2022.

r

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.