Kwame Kwei-Armah facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE
Kwei-Armah in 2011
Born	Ian Roberts (1967-03-24) 24 March 1967 (age 58) Hillingdon, London, England
Alma mater	Barbara Speake Stage School
Known for	Actor, playwright, singer, and broadcaster
Children	4

Kwame Kwei-Armah is a talented British actor, playwright, director, and broadcaster. He was born Ian Roberts on March 24, 1967, in Hillingdon, London. In 2005, he made history as the second black Briton to have a play performed in London's West End. This play was his award-winning work, Elmina's Kitchen. Later, in 2018, he became the first black Briton to lead a major British national theater, the Young Vic. For his contributions to drama, Kwei-Armah was honored with the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) award in 2012.

Kwame grew up in Southall, West London. When he was 19, he changed his name after learning about his family history. He traced his family through the slave trade back to his ancestors in Ghana. His parents were originally from Grenada. He has four children. Many people know Kwei-Armah from his acting role as paramedic Finlay Newton in the BBC medical show Casualty. He played this role from 1999 to 2004. He also served as the head of the University of the Arts London from 2011 to 2015. Before that, he was the artistic director of Baltimore's Center Stage Theater in the United States from 2011 to 2018. He led the Young Vic theatre in London as its artistic director from 2018 until February 2024.

Early Life and Education

Kwame Kwei-Armah was born Ian Roberts at Hillingdon Hospital in West London. He changed his name at age 19. He became interested in his family history after watching the TV show Roots. He discovered his family roots in Ghana, tracing them back through the slave trade. His parents were born in Grenada, which was a British colony at the time.

His mother moved to Britain in 1962. His father, Eric, came to Britain in 1960. There was high unemployment in Grenada then, so his father found work at a factory in London. When Kwame was one year old, his family moved to Southall. They rented out rooms in their house to help pay for their mortgage.

Kwame started primary school at age five. After a difficult experience with a teacher, his mother worked three jobs. She was a childminder, a night nurse, and a hairdresser. She did this to send Kwame and his two siblings to a private stage school, the Barbara Speake Stage School in London. He also received music training at The Salvation Army.

Growing up in Southall in the 1970s was a time of change. Many Asian families moved in, and some white families moved out. Kwame felt there was tension between the Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities. He once saw a riot in Southall. This event made him feel like he was in a strange place. It also made him determined to do well in his education. He later wrote about this experience in his first play, A Bitter Herb.

Acting and Broadcasting Career

As Ian Roberts, Kwame Kwei-Armah appeared in the 1980 TV series The Latchkey Children. He played a character named Duke. In 1993, he was in the London stage production of Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens.

Kwame became well-known for playing Finlay Newton in the BBC drama Casualty. He was on the show from 1999 to 2004. He also appeared in Casualty's sister show Holby City. Other TV roles included Afternoon Play, Between the Lines, and The Bill. In 2003, he was a contestant on Comic Relief does Fame Academy. After this, he released an album called Kwame.

In 2007, he starred in a BBC Radio 4 show. It was an adaptation of the book To Sir, with Love. He also appeared in an episode of Robin Hood in 2006. He was in the film Fade to Black in 2006.

In 2009, he presented a Channel 4 documentary called Christianity: A History. He talked about his own Christian faith and the history of Christianity in Africa. That same year, he presented On Tour with the Queen. This series looked at Queen Elizabeth II's tour of the Commonwealth in the 1950s. He met with King George Tupou V of Tonga and Queen Elizabeth II herself. In 2010, he appeared in the final episodes of the TV series Skins.

Kwame was a regular guest on the arts show Newsnight Review. He also appeared on Question Time and reported for The Culture Show. In 2011, he was a guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. He chose music from artists like Public Enemy, Marvin Gaye, and Bob Marley.

Career as a Playwright and Director

Kwame Kwei-Armah's first play, Bitter Herb (1998), won an award. It was performed at the Bristol Old Vic theatre. He also became a writer-in-residence there. His play Blues Brother, Soul Sister was produced in 1999.

His fifth play, Elmina's Kitchen, opened in 2003 at the National Theatre. It was nominated for a Best New Play award in 2004. That same year, he won an Evening Standard Award for Most Promising New Playwright. In 2005, the TV version of Elmina's Kitchen was nominated for a BAFTA award.

Kwame wrote Walter's War, a drama about the life of footballer Walter Tull. It was shown on BBC Four in 2008. Kwame also had a small role in the film.

He is a member of the board of the National Theatre. In 2008, he received an honorary doctorate from the Open University. In 2011, he became the new artistic director at Baltimore's Center Stage theatre in the US. His play Elmina's Kitchen had been performed there in 2005.

In 2014, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He also supports the Shakespeare Schools Festival. This charity helps school children perform Shakespeare plays in professional theatres.

Kwame wrote and directed Marley, a musical about the life of Bob Marley. It premiered in Baltimore in 2015. In 2017, a new version of the musical, called One Love: The Bob Marley Musical, opened in the UK.

In 2016, Kwame directed One Night in Miami. This play was about a meeting between four famous black icons: boxer Cassius Clay (who became Muhammad Ali), activist Malcolm X, singer Sam Cooke, and footballer Jim Brown. The play was performed in London's West End.

Kwame worked with Idris Elba on a musical called Tree. It premiered in 2019.

Creative Differences with Tree

In 2019, there were discussions about the musical Tree. Two writers, Tori Allen-Martin and Sarah Henley, said they had worked on the project for four years. They claimed their ideas were used, but they were later removed from the production. The show was then presented as "created by Idris Elba and Kwame Kwei-Armah."

The producers of Tree stated that the two versions of the show were different projects. They said any similarities were because both versions were based on Idris Elba's original idea. Elba and Kwei-Armah also shared their thoughts on the matter. Elba said he had the right to take the show in a new direction.

Personal Life

Kwame Kwei-Armah has four children. Three are from his first marriage to Fyna Dowe, and one is from his second marriage. His son, Kwame Jr., is a music producer known as KZ. KZ has worked on music for artists like Wretch 32.

Work

Theatre (incomplete)

Television (incomplete)

• Casualty (1999–2004)
• Walter's War (2008)
• Robin Hood (2006)

Film

See also

In Spanish: Kwame Kwei-Armah para niños