Inua Ellams

Last updated

Inua Ellams

MBE FRSL
Born
Inua Marc Mohammed Onore de Ellams II

(1984-10-23) 23 October 1984 (age 39)
Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria
CitizenshipNigeria
EducationFirhouse Community College, Dublin, Ireland
Occupation(s)Poet, playwright
Known forBarber Shop Chronicles
Website www.inuaellams.com

Inua Marc Mohammed Onore de Ellams II [1] [2] MBE FRSL [3] (born 23 October 1984 [1] ) is a Nigerian-born British poet, playwright and performer. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to the arts. [4]

Contents

Work

Ellams has written for the Royal Shakespeare Company, [5] Royal National Theatre and the BBC. In June 2018, Ellams was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature as part of its 40 Under 40 initiative. [3] [6] He took part in The Complete Works mentoring programme for poets of colour.

Poetry

The Salt Book of Younger Poets (Salt, 2010) [7] [ citation needed ]

Performances and plays

The 14th Tale

Ellams's one-man show The 14th Tale was awarded an Edinburgh Fringe First at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2009, and later transferred to the Royal National Theatre, London. [8]

Untitled

A one-man show staged at the Soho Theatre in 2010, [9] telling the story of twins born on Nigeria's independence day. [10]

Barber Shop Chronicles

Barber Shop Chronicles is a play set in black barber shops in six cities on one day, against the backdrop of a football match between Chelsea and Barcelona. The play explores the African diaspora in the UK, [11] masculinity, homosexuality and religion. The play was produced by the National Theatre, Fuel Theatre and Leeds Playhouse and was shortlisted for the Alfred Fagon Award in 2017. [12] Following a period of touring, the play was also performed at the Roundhouse in 2019, [13] and a recording of the National Theatre production was streamed in May 2020 as part of the National Theatre at Home season. [14] For the production, Ellams recorded 60 hours of "male banter" [15] in barbershops all over Africa and in London at his barber Peter's shop Emmanuel's in Clapham Junction. [15] This project originally did not secure funding. [16]

The Half God of Rainfall

In April 2019, his new play, The Half God of Rainfall, was presented at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, [17] in advance of its run at London's Kiln Theatre, as well as its publication as a book. [18]

Three Sisters

In December 2019–February 2020, a reworking by Ellams of Chekhov's play Three Sisters was performed at the Royal National Theatre, London. [19] The play restaged the story in the 1960s in the midst of the Biafran war in Nigeria. [20]

An Evening with an Immigrant

In 2020, Ellams performed a live stage programme with anecdotes of his childhood and his experiences as a refugee. An excerpt was shown at the Hay Festival on 24 May 2020. [8]

Awards

Related Research Articles

Roy Samuel Williams is a British playwright.

Abdul Wahab Mumuni, known professionally as Abdul Salis, is a British actor. He played paramedic Curtis Cooper on Casualty, the longest-running medical drama broadcast in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyril Nri</span> English actor (born 1961)

Cyril Ikechukwu Nri is a Nigerian-born English actor who is best known for playing Superintendent Adam Okaro in the police TV series The Bill. Cyril Nri plays the role of Lord Danbury in the Netflix series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (2023).

Bijan Sheibani is a British theatre director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zawe Ashton</span> British actress, playwright and narrator (born 1984)

Zawedde Emma Ashton is a British actress and playwright. She is best known for her roles in the comedy dramas Fresh Meat and Not Safe for Work, the Netflix horror thriller film Velvet Buzzsaw and for her portrayal of Joyce Carol Vincent in Dreams of a Life (2011). She also portrayed Dar-Benn in The Marvels (2023).

<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.

Winsome Pinnock FRSL is a British playwright of Jamaican heritage, who is "probably Britain's most well known black female playwright". She was described in The Guardian as "the godmother of black British playwrights".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oberon Books</span> British publishing company

Oberon Books is a London-based publisher of drama texts and books on theatre. The company publishes around 100 titles per year, many of them plays by new writers. In addition, the list contains a range of titles on theatre studies, acting, writing and dance.

debbie tucker green is a British playwright, screenwriter, and director. She spells her name in lower-case. She has written a number of plays, including born bad (2003), for which she won the Olivier Award for Most Promising Newcomer in 2004. Most of her stage plays have been produced at the Royal Court Theatre and the Young Vic in London. She has been called "one of the most stylistically innovative and politically engaged playwrights at work in Britain today".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flipped eye publishing</span> Not-for-profit publishing company

Founded in 2001 by Nii Ayikwei Parkes and J. A. Parkes, flipped eye publishing is a company that publishes original poetry and prose on a not-for-profit model. The not-for-profit approach has allowed flipped eye to focus on new writers with potential, proiritising development, thus facilitating the emergence of truly unique literary talent. The company's editorial focus is on work that is "clear and true rather than exhibitionist," but is not averse to publishing work that might be considered experimental, such as Niki Aguirre's apocalyptic 29 Ways to Drown, which was longlisted for the 2008 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. Some of the better known writers first published by flipped eye are Malika Booker, Inua Ellams, Warsan Shire, Ekere Tallie, Jacob Sam-La Rose, Niall O'Sullivan, AJ Odasso, and Leila Segal – a list that illustrates the significant percentage of female writers and British writers of Black and minority ethnic heritage that the company has published. In addition to its imprints, the company operates a number of distinct publishing series: mouthmark series, flap series and defeye.

<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.

Alfred Fagon was a British playwright, poet and actor. He was one of the most notable Black British playwrights of the 1970s and 1980s. Fagon worked for British Rail and served in the British Army before he wrote and produced plays at theatres across the UK, including Royal Court Theatre and Hampstead Theatre.

Laurie Bolger is an English poet, stand-up and presenter based in London. In 2014 she was shortlisted for Young Poet Laureate of London. She currently tours her writing including her debut pamphlet collection Box Rooms, published by Burning Eye and one woman show Talking to Strangers as well as hosting Bang Said the Gun.

Theresa Ikoko is a British playwright and screenwriter of Nigerian descent. Her play Girls, about three girls abducted by terrorists in northern Nigeria, won the Alfred Fagon Award and other awards.

Paula B. Stanic is a British playwright and the winner of the 2008 Alfred Fagon Award for the best new play by a Black playwright of African or Caribbean descent living in the United Kingdom. Her play Monday was short-listed for the 2009 John Whiting Award. She has been a writer-in-residence at the Royal Court Theatre and Soho Theatre (2012-13), and a writer on attachment at the National Theatre Studio.

Charlene James is a British playwright and screenwriter. She won substantial acclaim for her play Cuttin' It, which addresses the issue of female genital mutilation in Britain, for which she won numerous awards.

Juliet Gilkes Romero is a writer for stage and screen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martins Imhangbe</span> British-Nigerian actor

Martins Isoken Imhangbe is a British-Nigerian actor. He made his debut in theatre, earning an Ian Charleson Award nomination for his performance in the 2018 production of Richard II. As of 2020, he plays Will Mondrich in the Netflix series Bridgerton.

Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini is a Nigerian-British playwright and screenwriter.

Anni Domingo 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." Her writing includes plays, poetry and fiction, with her debut novel Breaking the Maafa Chain published in 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 "inuaellamsCV copy" (PDF). InuaEllams.com. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  2. ↑ "Inua Ellams". Inua Ellams. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Royal Society of Literature >> Inua Ellams". The Royal Society of Literature . 28 June 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  4. ↑ "No. 64082". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2023. p. B18.
  5. ↑ "'The first time I read Shakespeare's The Tempest, I got angry.'". BBC World Service - The Cultural Frontline. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  6. 1 2 "The RSL elects 40 new Fellows under the age of 40". The Royal Society of Literature. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  7. 1 2 "Inua Ellams – Poetry Spotlight" . Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 Delia Jarrett-Macauley (2018). "Inua Ellams - Literature". British Council - Literature. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  9. ↑ skill issue (2010). "Theatre review: Untitled at Soho Theatre". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  10. ↑ Lyn Gardner (5 October 2010). "Untitled - review". The Guardian . Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  11. ↑ Kirsty Lang (23 November 2017). "BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, Inua Ellams on Barber Shop Chronicles, Battle of the Sexes, Charles Causley, Godless". BBC . Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  12. 1 2 "2017 Awards - Alfred Fagon Award". Alfred Fagon Award . 8 December 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  13. ↑ Miriam Gillinson (26 July 2019). "Barber Shop Chronicles review – hair-raising ebullience". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  14. ↑ Arifa Akbar (13 May 2020). "Inua Ellams: 'Barber shops are a safe, sacred place for British black men' (Interview)". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  15. 1 2 Susannah Butter (23 July 2019). "Inua Ellams interview: 'Men think they have to be tougher to downplay the frailties they feel' (Interview)". Evening Standard - GoLondon. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  16. ↑ wildness (October 2017). "An Interview with Inua Ellams (Interview)". wildness. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  17. ↑ "The Half God of Rainfall - Birmingham". Birmingham Repertory Theatre . April 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  18. ↑ Claire Armitstead (22 April 2019). "Inua Ellams: 'In the UK, black men were thought of as animalistic'". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  19. ↑ Alice Saville (11 December 2019). "'Three Sisters' review". Time Out - London. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  20. ↑ Andrew Dickson (22 March 2020). "Playwright Inua Ellams on poetry, basketball and the Nigerian melodrama of Chekhov". Financial Times . Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  21. ↑ Catherine Love (16 March 2017). "Inua Ellams: 'I'm bracing myself for a showdown with UKIP'". The Stage . Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  22. ↑ "The Break - five original short monologues". BBC Writersroom. BBC. 2 November 2015.
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.