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Bim Adewunmi

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Bim Adewunmi
OccupationWriter, producer, journalist
LanguageEnglish
NationalityBritish Nigerian
Notable worksThirst Aid Kit

Bim Adewunmi is a British writer and journalist. She is a producer for This American Life and previously worked as a culture writer at BuzzFeed and The Guardian. She co-hosts the podcast Thirst Aid Kit with writer Nichole Perkins. Her debut play, Hoard, premiered at Arcola Theatre in May 2019.[1][2][3]

Life and career

Adewunmi was born and raised in Stratford, East London to Nigerian immigrant parents who are of Yoruba descent.[2]

In 2014, she began writing an opinion and culture column in the Lifestyle section of The Guardian.[4] She became a culture editor for BuzzFeed in 2015.[5] In November 2017, Adewunmi co-developed and began co-hosting Thirst Aid Kit with writer Nichole Perkins, a podcast about celebrity lust. BuzzFeed ended its relationship with the podcast in December 2018.[6] The podcast was picked up by Slate in August 2019, and it returned on September 26, 2019.[7]

She left The Guardian in October 2018[4] and joined the American public radio program This American Life as a producer in April 2019.[8]

Hoard

Adewunmi's debut play, Hoard, premiered at the Arcola Theatre in May 2019.[2] The play centers on a Nigerian-British family, the Bakares, who reside in East London. A comedy about the relationship between an eccentric mother, who is a hoarder, and her daughters,[9][10] it received mixed critical reviews.

Peter Mason, giving the play four stars out of five in the Morning Star newspaper, described it as "a very good debut", and wrote: "Essentially, Hoard explores whether a mother can ever live her own life beyond the orbit of her children and vice versa. Its conclusions are surprisingly heartwarming and it provides an uplifting insight into how we should all perhaps let go of our controlling instincts in favour of a philosophy of live and let live."[11]

However, Arifa Akbar, in a three-star review for The Guardian, declared that "...the hoarding theme ends up feeling confected and simply not dramatic enough to warrant the emotional ruptures it creates".[12]

Writing for Time Out London, Rosemary Waugh also rated the play three out of five stars, writing: "Adewunmi describes her play as ‘a love letter to east London’, and it shows. It's also a love letter to the characters who are all so warm and lovingly sketched it would be hard to genuinely begrudge spending time in their company."[10]

References

  1. ^ "What does Luminary's very bad week tell us about podcasters' collective power?". Nieman Lab. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  2. ^ a b c "Bim Adewunmi recalls the east London that shaped her". Evening Standard. 2019-05-15. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  3. ^ Kang, Inkoo. "Lusting Out Loud". Slate. Retrieved 2019-07-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ a b Adewunmi, Bim (2018-10-20). "Thank you and goodbye, readers: you helped make my dream come true | Bim Adewunmi". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  5. ^ McAleavy, Emma L. (2018-08-23). "What's on TV Thursday: 'Follow This' on Netflix and the Season Finale of 'American Woman'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  6. ^ Becca James. "Want to Try Bim Adewunmi and Nichole Perkins's Thirst Aid Kit? Start Here". Vulture. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  7. ^ "Exclusive: Nichole Perkins And Bim Adewunmi's 'Thirst Aid Kit' Is Joining Slate". Essence. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
  8. ^ Adewunmi, Bim (2019-04-29). "~some personal news~ today is my first day as a producer with This American Life. So, uh, feel free to hit me up with stories etc. pic.twitter.com/032muBCZS2". @bimadew. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  9. ^ "Hoard Puts A New Spin On Meeting The Parents At Arcola Theatre". Londonist. 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  10. ^ a b "Hoard review: Bim Adewunmi's flawed but lovable debut drama about a British-Nigerian family living in east London". Time Out London. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  11. ^ Peter Mason. Review of Hoard. Morning Star, 2019. Web. Retrieved on 27 May 2019.
  12. ^ Akbar, Arifa (2019-05-22). "Hoard review – emotional wreckage from a drive-by family visit". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
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