Inua Ellams
Inua M. M. Ellams (born 23 October 1984) is a UK-based poet, playwright and performer. Work. Ellams has written for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal National Theatre and the BBC. In June 2018, Ellams was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature as part of its "40 Under 40" initiative. Poetry. Featured in anthologies. "The Salt Book of Younger Poets" (Salt, 2011) Performances and plays. Section::::"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. Section::::"Untitled". A one-man show staged at the Soho Theatre in 2010, telling the story of twins born on Nigeria's independence day. Section::::"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, 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. Following a period of touring, the  play was also performed at the Roundhouse in 2019, and a recording of the National Theatre production was streamed in May 2020 as part of the "National Theatre at Home" season. For the production, Ellams recorded 60 hours of "male banter" in barbershops all over Africa and in London at his barber Peter's shop "Emmanuel's" in Clapham Junction. This project originally did not secure funding. Section::::"The Half God of Rainfall". In April 2019 his new play, "The Half God of Rainfall", was presented at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, in advance of its run at London's Kiln Theatre , as well as its publication as a book. Section::::"Three Sisters". In December 2019–February 2020 Ellams's reworking of Chekhov's play "Three Sisters" was performed at the Royal National Theatre, London. The play restaged the story in the 1960s in the midst of the Biafran war in Nigeria. Section::::"An Evening with an Immigrant". In 2020 Ellams performed a live stage programme with anecdotes of his childhood and his experiences as a refugee. An excerpt was shown at the Hay Festival on 24 May 2020.