Wednesday 3 February 2021
12:00
Kwame Kwei-Armah
Many in the black community are wondering if the attention given to the issue of diversity is just “a moment” rather than the birth of a movement - Kwame believes it can be both
In conversation with Gerry Fox, Kwame will share his personal journey, his vision for the Young Vic and the importance of BLM.
Kwame is the Artistic Director of the Young Vic theatre. He was Artistic Director of Baltimore Center Stage (2011-2018) and Artistic Director of the 2010 Festival of Black Arts and Culture, in Senegal, where he wrote and directed the opening ceremony at Senghor Stadium.
As a playwright, Kwame was the first African Caribbean to have a play produced in London’s West End (Elmina’s Kitchen). His triptych of plays was produced at the National Theatre, where he later created the online resource the Black Plays Archive.
Kwame was Chancellor of the University of the Arts London (2010-2015), is a Patron of Ballet Black and the Black Cultural Archives, and Chair of the Warwick Arts Centre Advisory Board. Kwame was awarded an OBE for services to drama in 2011 and in 2020 he was listed as one of the 100 Great Black Britons.
'We will all be in a different world when we go back, but I believe BLM has deepened the listening of our white peers. It is true we have to get bums back on seats, but we also have to serve our community. That is now the priority.'
Kwame is the Artistic Director of the Young Vic theatre. He was Artistic Director of Baltimore Center Stage (2011-2018) and Artistic Director of the 2010 Festival of Black Arts and Culture, in Senegal, where he wrote and directed the opening ceremony at Senghor Stadium.
As a playwright, Kwame was the first African Caribbean to have a play produced in London’s West End (Elmina’s Kitchen). His triptych of plays was produced at the National Theatre, where he later created the online resource the Black Plays Archive.
Kwame was Chancellor of the University of the Arts London (2010-2015), is a Patron of Ballet Black and the Black Cultural Archives, and Chair of the Warwick Arts Centre Advisory Board. Kwame was awarded an OBE for services to drama in 2011 and in 2020 he was listed as one of the 100 Great Black Britons.
