Inua Ellams | |
---|---|
Born | Inua Marc Mohammed Onore de Ellams II 23 October 1984 |
Citizenship | Nigeria |
Education | Firhouse Community College, Dublin, Ireland |
Occupation(s) | Poet, playwright |
Known for | Barber Shop Chronicles |
Website |
www |
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]
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.
The Salt Book of Younger Poets ( Salt, 2010) [7][ citation needed]
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]
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 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]
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]
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]
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]