Plays: 1
Elmina’s Kitchen, Fix Up,
Statement of Regret, Let There Be Love
Elmina’s Kitchen: ‘This is an angry, provocative, vital play, one that demands change in society while recognising that there are no easy solutions, and is passionately political while understanding that the best way to communicate with people is to keep them entertained.’ Guardian
Fix Up: ‘What is striking about [Kwei-Armah’s] richly eloquent new play is that it deals with a subject that has specific racial resonances but a wider application: the sacrifice of historical identity to the insatiable demands of brute commerce . . . Kwei-Armah builds a philosophical argument out of a practical problem.’ Guardian
Statement of Regret: ‘The play is unashamedly political, driven by dialectic, and bravely provocative: it brings sensitive questions from and about the black community in Britain . . . to the stage. It focuses on the continuing legacy of the slave trade and how best to overcome it. It champions debate and celebrates discussion, is honest, quizzical and daring.’ Financial Times
Let There Be Love: ‘Initially, [the play] looks like an amusing study of racial and generational tolerance, in which a cantankerous old Caribbean Londoner establishes a rapport with his young, Polish cleaner that he can’t find with his two daughters. But it ranges far wider and deeper than that, decisively transcending issues of race. In a series of surprising turns, Let There Be Love delves into domestic violence and illness, as well as gender and sexuality, dignity and death, without ever losing its sense of humour.’ Evening Standard Kwame Kwei-Armah won the Peggy Ramsay award for his first play, Bitter Herb (1998), which was subsequently put on by the Bristol Old Vic, where he also became writer-in-residence. He followed this up with the musical Blues Brother, Soul Sister which toured the UK in 2001. He co-wrote the musical Big Nose (an adaptation of Cyrano) which was performed at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, in 1999. In 2003 the National Theatre produced the critically acclaimed Elmina’s Kitchen for which in 2004 he won the Evening Standard Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright, and was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play 2003. Elmina’s Kitchen has since been produced and aired on Radio 3 and BBC4. His next two plays, Fix Up and Statement of Regret, were produced by the National Theatre in 2004 and 2007. He directed his most recent play, Let There Be Love, when it premiered at the Tricycle Theatre, London, in 2008. He received an honorary doctorate from the Open University in 2008.