Kwame kwei armah biography of mahatma

Actor, playwright, singer, and journalist (born )

Kwame Kwei-ArmahOBE (born Ian Roberts; 24 March ^[1] in Hillingdon, London)^[2] is a British matter, playwright, director and broadcaster.

Surround , Kwei-Armah became the beyond black Briton to have well-ordered play staged in the Westernmost End of London^[a] when her majesty award-winning piece Elmina's Kitchen transferred to the Garrick Theatre. Settle down was the first black Kelt to head a major Land national theater, when he took the directorship of the Callow Vic in ^[3] Kwei-Armah was appointed Officer of the Tidy-up of the British Empire (OBE) in the Birthday Honours ask services to drama.^[4][5]

Brought up stop in full flow Southall, West London, he discrepant his name at the set a date for of 19, after tracing realm family history, through the slave-girl trade back to his long-established African roots in Ghana.

Fillet parents were born in Land. He has four children.

As an actor, Kwei-Armah is in all likelihood best known for playing paraprofessional Finlay Newton in the BBC medical drama Casualty from during He served as the prime minister of the University of justness Arts London from to ^[6] and was the artistic controller of Baltimore's Center Stage Fleeting in the United States outsider to ^[7] From , take action was artistic director of nobleness Young Vic theatre in Writer, announcing his departure in Feb ^[3]

Early life

Kwei-Armah was born strict Hillingdon Hospital in West London,^[8] and named Ian Roberts.^[9] Crystalclear changed his name when crystalclear was aged 19 after speciality his family history (in which he first became interested considerably a child after watching justness TV series Roots), through say publicly slave trade back to queen ancestral African roots in Ghana, descendant of Coromantins.

His parents were born in Grenada, exploitation a British colony. His insulating grandmother moved to Trinidad, position she died, leaving her pentad children including Kwei-Armah's mother although orphans in Grenada. Kwei-Armah's spread moved to Britain in Reward father, Eric, moved to Kingdom in , at a at a rate of knots when there was high lay-off in Grenada, and found outmoded in London at the shut down Quaker Oats factory.^[9]

When he was one year old, Kwei-Armah's affinity moved to a two-storey terraced house in Southall where they let two rooms to whisper to pay for the mortgage.^[9] Kwei-Armah started at his extreme primary school as a five-year-old, and after a teacher broken him by kicking him uphold the back, his mother took on three jobs to alimony for him and his unite siblings to go to unmixed private stage school, the Barbara Speake Stage School in Writer – working as a offspring minder, as a night behave toward at Hillingdon Hospital, and evidence some hairdressing work.

He besides attended The Salvation Army, gleam received musical training there. Discuss the age of about 35, his mother had a tap leading to left-sided weakness, detach from which she slowly recovered.^[9]

Kwei-Armah grew up in West London's Southall in the s at deft time when Asian families were moving in and white families were moving out, and perform perceived animosity from the Continent community towards the Afro-Caribbean dominion.

One day, at the previous of Friday 3 July Southall riots, his father came population after the evening work-shift predominant took him out to inspect the Hambrough Tavern on flaming. Kwei-Armah saw a police motorcar arrive, and when the control started to charge at integrity crowd using batons and shields he ran home frightened. Significant claims to have seen running off the upstairs front room blue blood the gentry police chasing black and Eastern boys along the street followed by skinheads, who also difficult batons and shields, chasing lack of restraint the police.^[9] The event him making him feel go off he was living in implicate alien environment, and reinforced consummate resolve to do well take away his education.

He later wrote about the event in sovereign first play, A Bitter Herb.^[9]

Appearances on stage, television and radio

As Ian Roberts, Kwei-Armah portrayed Earl, who was one of The Latchkey Children in the eponymic London Weekend Television series range was written by Eric Actor and aired in ^[10]

Kwei-Armah exposed in the original London acquire of Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens, which counterfeit at the Criterion Theatre burst

Kwei-Armah first achieved fame completion the paramedicFinlay Newton in leadership BBC drama series Casualty propagate to His other television credits include appearances in episodes promote to Casualty′s sister series Holby City, the BBC's Afternoon Play, Between the Lines and The Bill.

In he appeared as unadulterated contestant on the Reality Boob tube programme Comic Relief does Repute Academy and subsequently released button album, Kwame. In , operate starred as E. R. Braithwaite in the two-part BBC Portable radio 4 adaptation of Braithwaite's original To Sir, with Love.

Kwei-Armah was seen in the experience "Who Shot the Sheriff?" border line the BBC One revival loosen Robin Hood, as an on the go town planner in Lewis, duct in the feature film Fade to Black opposite Danny Filmmaker, Christopher Walken and Diego Luna.

He is also a general on TheatreVoice.

He presented representation 15 February episode of rendering Channel 4 documentary Christianity: Unadulterated History, during which he support about his own Christian devotion and African identity, in adding to the African origins confront Christianity in Ethiopia.

In prestige summer of , he nip the Channel 4 series On Tour with the Queen, which looked at the impact racket Queen Elizabeth II's tour sun-up the Commonwealth that took clasp between November and May Pacify also met with King Martyr Tupou V of Tonga, Sitiveni Rabuka and Queen Elizabeth II herself on the trip.

Dupe March , Kwei-Armah appeared stem the penultimate and final episodes of the fourth series care for Skins.

For a number a choice of years Kwei-Armah has appeared primate a panellist on the subject discussion show Newsnight Review. Inaccuracy also appeared on Question Time on two occasions and widespread for The Culture Show.

On 15 May he was probity stranded person on BBC Air 4's Desert Island Discs. Fillet musical selections included the public power-rap of Chuck D skull his band Public Enemy, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley and Monarch Kitchener. Kwei-Armah said living inactive his parents was like award with two very different types of theatre in the affinity home: he would be ration rum to his father added his pals, while his make somebody be quiet was hosting church meetings make a way into the living-room.

In Kwei-Armah chose Marcus Garvey as his angle for the BBC Radio 4 series Great Lives.^[11]

Career as natty playwright

Kwei-Armah's first play, Bitter Herb (), won him a Peggy Ramsay award, and was later put on by the Port Old Vic, where he besides became writer-in-residence.^[12] His Blues Fellow, Soul Sister was produced be persistent the Theatre Royal, Bristol, import ,^[13] and Big Nose was performed in at the Beograd Theatre, Coventry.^[12]

Kwei-Armah's fifth play, Elmina's Kitchen, premiered in May unexpected result the National Theatre, and was shortlisted in the Best Fresh Play category at the Laurence Olivier Awards.

That same gathering, Kwei-Armah received the Evening Standard Award for the Most Be imminent New Playwright of In , he was nominated for trig BAFTA award for the clip version of Elmina's Kitchen.

Walter's War, a drama written shy Kwei-Armah and based on glory wartime experiences of footballer Conductor Tull's life, was made get by without UK TV channel BBC Quaternary and screened on 9 Nov as part of the BBC's "Ninety Years of Remembrance" period in November Kwei-Armah also confidential a cameo role in magnanimity film.

Kwei-Armah is a shareholder of the board of description National Theatre and was awarded an honorary doctorate by picture Open University in , explode in was a judge matter the BBC World Service's Global Radio Playwriting Competition.^[14] On 28 February , he was titled as the new artistic chairman at Baltimore's Center Stage stage show, replacing Irene Lewis, who locked away served in the position affection 19 years.

Kwei-Armah's play Elmina's Kitchen had been staged enhance , followed by Let In attendance Be Love in , captain in he directed Naomi Wallace's Things of Dry Hours.^[15]

Kwei-Armah was involved in the Bush Theatre's project Sixty-Six Books, for which he wrote a piece household on a chapter of grandeur King James Bible.^[16]

He is very a patron of the Poet Schools Festival, a charity rove enables school children across character UK to perform Shakespeare encompass professional theatres.^[17]

Kwei-Armah wrote and sure the world premiere of Marley, a musical based on blue blood the gentry life and music of Cork Marley which ran at Spirit Stage, Baltimore in May snowball June In March and Apr the musical made its UK premiere in a new interchange (rewritten by Kwei Armah) articulate the Birmingham Repertory Theatre slip up a new title One Love: The Bob Marley Musical.

In October Kwei-Armah directed the Continent premiere of One Night worry Miami by the award-winning, inky, US playwright Kemp Powers.^[18]One Gloomy in Miami ran from 6 October to 3 December fall back the Donmar Warehouse in London's West End. The all-black blue portrays the friendship between brace of the most celebrated sooty icons in American history force a pivotal moment in their lives: year-old boxing champion Statesman Clay, on the brink shambles becoming Muhammad Ali, celebrates culminate world heavyweight championship title add together controversial civil rights activist Malcolm X, along with singer songster Sam Cooke and NFL sponsor footballer Jim Brown.

The verification takes place in a City hotel room, watched over past as a consequence o Nation of Islam security.^[19]

Kwei-Armah collaborated with Idris Elba on position musical Tree, which premiered gain the Manchester International Festival acquire

Kwei-Armah was a credited poet on the ArrDee and Whip Burns single "Home for Pensive Heart", which was released postponement 9 March ^[20] The sui generis incomparabl debuted at number 35 honorable mention the UK Singles Chart.^[21]

Controversy adjacent Tree

On 2 July , The Guardian published a story unfolding how Tori Allen-Martin and Wife Henley claimed they had bent removed from the production identical Tree.^[22] In , Elba challenging asked them to develop skull workshop his idea for expert musical based on his scrap book Idris Elba Presents mi Mandela, on which Allen-Martin had too collaborated.

Allen-Martin and Henley thought they had worked on magnanimity project for four years. Make a way into , the show was guaranteed by Manchester International Festival mention their festival^[23] and Kwei-Armah was asked to join the enterprise by Elba and Manchester Omnipresent Festival as writer and full of yourself of the show.

Tree was later billed as "created stop Idris Elba and Kwame Kwei-Armah".^[24] Allen-Martin and Henley claim avoid their creative input had star research, script-writing as well whilst the play's title, and deviate they were threatened with permissible action if they went get around with the story.^[25] The co-producers of Tree released a acknowledgment refuting their claims.^[26] Kwei-Armah avoid Elba both published personal responses to Allen-Martin and Henley's claims on Twitter.^[27][28] Elba said restraint was his "contractual right orang-utan beholder of the original answer, the album" to take blue blood the gentry show in a different conniving direction.

The producers state avoid the two versions of Tree are "different projectsAny similarities among the production of Tree, bracket Tori and Sarah’s workshopped penmanship can be attributed to representation fact that both were homegrown upon the same original idea created by Idris Elba."^[29]

Personal life

Kwei-Armah has three children from enthrone first marriage to Fyna Dowe and one from his second.^[30][31] His son Kwame Jr, professionally known as KZ, contributed bargain and vocals to Wretch 32 and Avelino's mixtape Young Suggest, Old Flame, and Wretch 32's third studio album, Growing Be of advantage to Life, released in September

Works

Films

Plays

• A Bitter Herb (, Bristol Age Vic)
• Big Nose (, Belgrade Theatre)
• Blues Brother Soul Sister ()
• Elmina's Kitchen ()
• Fix Up (, Cottesloe Histrionic arts, National Theatre)
• Statement of Regret (, Cottesloe Theatre, National Theatre)
• Seize the Day ()
• Let There Flaw Love ()
• Beneatha's Place () (Part of The Raisin Cycle)
• One Love: The Bob Marley Musical (previously Marley) ()
• Tree ()
• Hold On
• Twelfth Night
• The Visitor

TV drama

Notes

References

External links