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Inua Ellams

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Inua M. M. Ellams FRSL (born October 23, 1984 in Jos, Nigeria)[1][2] is a UK-based poet, playwright and performer.

Biography

Ellams was born in Jos, Nigeria, to a Christian mother and Muslim father who worked in a business that exported Nigerian food.[3] Ellams has a twin sister and two other sisters. He was raised in "the plushness of middle-class Nigerian life"; his family had servants, and he attended boarding school. The family was threatened by Islamic extremists when his father began to openly doubt his Islamic faith after disagreeing with things he saw during Hajj. Attempts were made to kill his father and burn down their house. They escaped to Lagos, but when the threats and violence still continued, the family left Nigeria for London, UK when Ellams was age twelve.[4] Money being "painfully tight", and qualifying only for higher fees as an overseas student, Ellams did not attend university.[5]

He attended Holland Park School in Holland Park, London. He also and Firhouse Community College, Dublin.[3][6] Money being "painfully tight", and qualifying only for higher fees as an overseas student, Ellams did not attend university.[7]

Ellams has written for the Royal Shakespeare Company,[8] Royal National Theatre and the BBC. In June 2018 Ellams was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in its "40 Under 40" initiative.[9]

Works

Poetry

Thirteen Fairy Negro Tales (flipped eye, 2005)

Candy Coated Unicorns and Converse All Stars (flipped eye, 2011)

The Wire-Headed Heathen (Akashic Books, 2016)

The Salt Book of Younger Poets (Salt, 2011)[10]

Ten: The New Wave (Bloodaxe, 2014)[11]

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.[12]

Untitled

A one-man show staged at the Soho Theatre in 2010,[13] telling the story of twins born on Nigeria's independence day.[14]

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[15], 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.[16] Following a period of touring, the play was also performed at the Roundhouse in 2019,[17] and a recording of the National Theatre production was streamed in May 2020 as part of the National Theatre at Home season.[18]

The Half God of Rainfall

In April 2019 his new play, The Half God of Rainfall, was presented at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre,[19] in advance of its run at London's Kiln Theatre, as well as its publication as a book.[20]

Three Sisters

In December 2019 - February 2020 Ellams's reworking of Chekhov's play Three Sisters (play) was performed at the Royal National Theatre, London.[21] The play restaged the story in the 1960s in the midst of the Biafran war in Nigeria.[22]

An Evening with an Immigrant

In 2020 Ellams has been performing a live stage programme with anecdotes of his childhood and his experiences as a refugee and will continue to update it to reflect his current experiences. An excerpt was shown at the Hay Festival on May 24, 2020.

Awards

Winner in 2008 of an Edinburgh Fringe First Award for The 14th Tale.[23]

Shortlisted in 2017 for the Alfred Fagon Award, for The Barber Shop Chronicles.[16]

Winner of the medal for Poetry at the 2020 Hay Festival for his work, The Half God of Rainfall and for his play The Barber Shop Chronicles, announced virtually on May 24. The medal has Athena, the goddess of Wisdom, rather than the traditional Nike, goddess of Victory.[1]

References

  1. ^ "Inua Ellams - Literature". literature.britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  2. ^ "INUA M. M. ELLAMS" (PDF). www.inuaellams.com/#about. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  3. ^ a b Elizabeth A. Harris (2020-09-26). "This Basketball-Loving Poet Resists Categorization". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  4. ^ "INUA M. M. ELLAMS" (PDF). www.inuaellams.com/#about. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  5. ^ https://www.ft.com/content/e94b5bac-4966-11e9-bde6-79eaea5acb64
  6. ^ "INUA M. M. ELLAMS" (PDF). www.inuaellams.com/#about. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  7. ^ https://www.ft.com/content/e94b5bac-4966-11e9-bde6-79eaea5acb64
  8. ^ "'The first time I read Shakespeare's The Tempest, I got angry', The Cultural Frontline - BBC World Service". BBC. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  9. ^ Flood, Alison (2018-06-28). "Royal Society of Literature admits 40 new fellows to address historical biases". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
  10. ^ "Inua Ellams – Poetry Spotlight". Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  11. ^ "Inua Ellams – Poetry Spotlight". Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  12. ^ "Inua Ellams - Literature". literature.britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  13. ^ "Theatre review: Untitled at Soho Theatre". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  14. ^ Gardner, Lyn (2010-10-05). "Untitled | Theatre review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  15. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, Inua Ellams on Barber Shop Chronicles, Battle of the Sexes, Charles Causley, Godless". BBC. Retrieved Oct 9, 2019.
  16. ^ a b "2017 Awards - Alfred Fagon Award". Alfred Fagon Award. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  17. ^ Gillinson, Miriam (2019-07-26). "Barber Shop Chronicles review – hair-raising ebullience". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  18. ^ Akbar, Arifa (2020-05-13). "Inua Ellams: 'Barber shops are a safe, sacred place for British black men' (Interview)". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  19. ^ The Half God of Rainfall at Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
  20. ^ Claire Armitstead, "Inua Ellams: ‘In the UK, black men were thought of as animalistic'", The Guardian, 2019-04-22.
  21. ^ "Three Sisters". Time Out London. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  22. ^ "Playwright Inua Ellams on poetry, basketball and the Nigerian melodrama of Chekhov". Financial Times. Retrieved 2019-11-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ^ Love, Catherine (2017-03-16). "Interview with poet, playwright and performer Inua Ellam". The Stage. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
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