Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini
Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini is a Nigerian-British playwright and screenwriter.[1][2][3]
Education
[edit]Ibini has a BA in English literature and creative writing (2013) from London Metropolitan University,[4] and an MA, with distinction, in playwriting and screen writing from City University, for which she was awarded a scholarship from BAFTA and Warner Bros.[3]
Writing
[edit]Ibini's first play Muscovado was performed at Theatre503 in 2015; it is set in Barbados in 1808 and Time Out described it as "A small but satisfying drama about the British involvement in the slave trade".[5][6][7] The play was one of three winners of the Audience Award of the Alfred Fagon Award for 2015.[8]
Little Miss Burden was performed at The Bunker in 2019, telling the story of three Nigerian sisters, one of whom uses a wheelchair. The Stage's reviewer called it "a gem of a play".[9][10]
The Unexpected Expert was broadcast by BBC Four in May 2020 as part of its series Unprecedented of plays written during and about COVID-19 lockdown. It shows a disabled influencer being told by a council worker that her support will be cut during lockdown.[11][12][13]
Her 2020 Caring, cowritten with Gabriel Bisset-Smith, is "A horror-comedy about a disabled woman who finally finds a good carer — only to discover the carer is a serial killer.", and was among the 14 scripts (from 246 entrants) which were selected for the 2020 Brit List of the year's best unproduced scripts.[14] In 2020 it was reported that shooting was planned for summer 2021.[3]
Her play Sleepova, produced at the Bush Theatre, won her the 2023 Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright, jointly with Marcelo Dos Santos,[15] and was nominated in the 2024 Laurence Olivier Awards for "Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre".[16]
Personal life
[edit]Ibini describes herself as bionic and Queer, explaining: "I adopted the term 'bionic' when I became a full-time wheelchair user and had metal implanted into my leg after a traumatic fracture, even though the term encompasses my experiences from birth, that I have always needed some form of technology, equipment, or adaptation to live."[17] She has Limb–girdle muscular dystrophy.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ Mercy, Yolande (8 June 2020). "Matilda Ibini: 'I switched to Creative Writing last minute, but I didn't tell my mum until I started the course.'". network.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on August 31, 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ Marks, Heather (24 January 2020). "Interview with Matilda Ibini". Words of Colour. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ a b c Dalton, Ben. "Stars of Tomorrow 2020: Matilda Ibini (writer)". Screen. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ "Creative Writing and English Literature Graduate lauded". www.londonmet.ac.uk. London Metropolitan University. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "Muscovado". Time Out London. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "Muscovado at Theatre503 Review". LondonTheatre1. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "Muscovado". www.blackplaysarchive.org.uk. Black Plays Archive. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "2015 Award". Alfred Fagon Award. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ Akbar, Arifa (9 December 2019). "Little Miss Burden review – trauma, whimsy and 90s girl-bands". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "Little Miss Burden review, The Bunker, London, London, 2019". The Stage. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "BBC Four - Unprecedented, Series 1, Episode 4". BBC. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ Al-Hassan, Aliya (3 June 2020). "BWW Review: Unprecedented - Episode four, BBC iPlayer". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ Fisher, Philip. "Stream review: Unprecedented". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "The Brit List: Film and TV 2020". The Brit List. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ Ramachandran, Naman (25 March 2024). "Andrew Scott, David Tennant, Sophie Okonedo Win Acting Prizes at U.K. Critics' Circle Theatre Awards". Variety. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "Olivier Awards 2024 with Mastercard nominations announced". Official London Theatre. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ a b "About". Matilda Ibini. Retrieved 28 September 2021.