Kwame Kwei-Armah facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kwame Kwei-Armah
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Kwei-Armah in 2011
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Ian Roberts
24 March 1967 Hillingdon, London, England
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| Alma mater | Barbara Speake Stage School |
| Known for | Actor, playwright, singer, and broadcaster |
| Children | 4 |
Kwame Kwei-Armah (born Ian Roberts; 24 March 1967) is a talented British actor, playwright, and director. He was born in Hillingdon, London.
In 2005, Kwame made history. His play, Elmina's Kitchen, was shown in London's famous West End. This made him the second Black Briton to have a play there. Later, in 2018, he became the first Black Briton to lead a major British national theatre, the Young Vic. For his great work in drama, he received an award called the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2012.
Kwame grew up in Southall, West London. When he was 19, he changed his name. He learned about his family history and found his roots in Ghana, Africa. His parents were originally from Grenada. Kwame Kwei-Armah has four children.
Many people know Kwame as an actor. He played Finlay Newton, a paramedic, in the BBC show Casualty. He was on the show from 1999 to 2004. He also led the University of the Arts London as its chancellor from 2011 to 2015. From 2011 to 2018, he was the artistic director of Center Stage Theater in Baltimore, USA. He then led the Young Vic theatre in London from 2018 until early 2024.
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Kwame's Early Life
Kwame Kwei-Armah was born Ian Roberts in West London. He changed his name at 19. He became interested in his family's past after watching the TV series Roots. He traced his family's story through the African slave trade back to Ghana. His ancestors were Coromantins.
His parents were born in Grenada, which was a British colony. His mother moved to Britain in 1962. His father, Eric, came to Britain in 1960. There was not much work in Grenada then. Eric found a job at a factory in London.
When Kwame was one, his family moved to Southall. They rented out rooms to help pay for their house. When Kwame was five, his mother worked three jobs. She wanted him and his siblings to go to a private stage school. This was the Barbara Speake Stage School in London. Kwame also learned music at The Salvation Army.
Kwame grew up in Southall in the 1970s. He saw tension between different communities. He remembers a time in 1981 during the Southall riots. His father took him to see a burning building. He saw police and then others chasing people. This event made him feel like an outsider. It also made him want to do well in his education. He later wrote about this in his first play, A Bitter Herb.
Acting on Stage and Screen
Kwame Kwei-Armah has had many roles as an actor. As Ian Roberts, he played Duke in The Latchkey Children in 1980. He also performed in the London play Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens in 1993.
He 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 Holby City, Afternoon Play, Between the Lines, and The Bill.
In 2003, he was a contestant on Comic Relief does Fame Academy. After this, he released a music album called Kwame. In 2007, he starred in a BBC Radio 4 show. It was an adaptation of the book To Sir, with Love.
Kwame also appeared in the TV show Robin Hood in 2006. He was in an episode of Lewis. He also acted in the film Fade to Black.
In 2009, he presented a Channel 4 show called Christianity: A History. He talked about his own Christian faith. He also explored the African beginnings of Christianity in Ethiopia. Later that year, he hosted On Tour with the Queen. This show looked at Queen Elizabeth II's tour of the Commonwealth in the 1950s. In 2010, he appeared in the TV series Skins.
Kwame has often been a guest on TV shows. He discussed arts on 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, Bob Marley, and Lord Kitchener. He shared that his home life was like two different types of theatre. His father would host friends, while his mother held church meetings.
Kwame's Plays
Kwame Kwei-Armah's first play was Bitter Herb (1998). It won an award and was performed at the Bristol Old Vic. He also became a writer there. His other early plays include Blues Brother, Soul Sister (1999) and Big Nose (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, Kwame won an Evening Standard Award for being a 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 footballer Walter Tull. It was shown on BBC Four in 2008. Kwame also had a small role in the film.
He is on the board of the National Theatre. In 2008, he received an honorary degree from the Open University. In 2009, he was a judge for a radio play competition. In 2011, he became the artistic director at Center Stage theatre in Baltimore, USA. His plays Elmina's Kitchen and Let There Be Love had been performed there.
Kwame also helped with the Bush Theatre's 2011 project Sixty-Six Books. He wrote a piece based on a chapter of the King James Bible. He supports the Shakespeare Schools Festival. This charity helps children perform Shakespeare in professional theatres.
Kwame wrote and directed Marley, a musical about Bob Marley's life. 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 four famous Black American icons: Cassius Clay (who became Muhammad Ali), Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown. It showed their friendship in a Miami hotel room.
Kwame worked with actor Idris Elba on a musical called Tree. It premiered in 2019. In 2023, Kwame was a lyricist for the song "Home for My Heart".
Personal Life
Kwame Kwei-Armah has three children from his first marriage and one from his second. His son, Kwame Jr., is a music producer known as KZ. KZ has worked on music for artists like Wretch 32.
Works
Films
- The Lorax – Mtambo (voice)
Plays
- A Bitter Herb (1998, Bristol Old Vic)
- Big Nose (1999, Belgrade Theatre)
- Blues Brother Soul Sister (1999)
- Elmina's Kitchen (2003)
- Fix Up (2004, Cottesloe Theatre, National Theatre)
- Statement of Regret (2007, Cottesloe Theatre, National Theatre)
- This play was also broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.
- Seize the Day (2009)
- Let There Be Love (2010)
- Beneatha's Place (2013) (Part of The Raisin Cycle)
- One Love: The Bob Marley Musical (previously Marley) (2015)
- Tree (2019)
- Hold On
- Twelfth Night
- The Visitor
TV Drama
- Casualty (1999–2004)
- Walter's War (2008)
- Robin Hood (2006)
See also
In Spanish: Kwame Kwei-Armah para niños
