Inua Ellams and Olusola Oyeleye

Inua Ellams with Olusola Oyeleye. Photo credit: Sharron Wallace

Inua Ellams won with his play Once Upon A Time in Sokoto.  The winner of the £6,000 prize was presented with his award by Trustee and Judge, Olusola Oyeleye.  The Awards were held on Friday, 13 December 2024 at the Lyttelton, National Theatre.

Also announced were the winner of the Mustapha Matura Award and Mentoring Programme Ilayda McIntosh and the recipient of the Roland Rees Bursary, Leanna Benjamin.

Chair of the Judges Daniel Bailey said, “we’ve had a stellar year, more writers up and down the country feel empowered to write their truths in a time when people are being persuaded to write what’s popular.  I’m proud of the quality of work that has been created and produced and I’m ecstatic that the Awards play a major part in the ecology.  Big love to all the writers, keep going, we’re right beside you.”

 

Roy Williams tribute to Dr Paul Stephenson

Roy Williams OBE FRSL gave a tribute to co-founder of the Alfred Fagon Award, Dr. Paul Stephenson who passed away on 2 November 2024.

“Good afternoon, an honour to be here.

In 1997, not long after being the first recipient of  the Alfred Fagon Prize, which was been held in the dress circle bar of The Duke of Yorks Theatre, I was introduced by a mutual colleague to one of the most wonderfully spoken  Black men I had ever met. His name of course was Paul Stephenson.  I was informed that he had an amazing story to tell.

Lenny Henry once said of him, “To achieve greatness you have to stand on the shoulders of giants.”

What  an understatement.

Now at that time, to my everlasting shame , I had never heard of the Bristol Bus Boycott of 1963, where Paul Stephenson, inspired by the civil rights movement in America at the time, played a pivotal role in rallying thousands of people in the city for a 60-day boycott over the Bristol Omnibus Company’s refusal to hire Black or Asian drivers and conductors.

This amazing moment of British history was never taught to me  when I was school, don’t get me started on that!  But Paul Stephenson’s campaigning as well as eventual victory contributed to the creation of the first race relations act in parliament two years later.

But the man  never stopped.  For years , Paul Stephenson continued tirelessly to dismantle the barriers of discrimination whenever he saw it and alongside Yvonne Brewster,  Sheelagh Killeen,  Oscar Janes and Roland Rees,  was a founder  of the Alfred Fagon Award itself, all because he believed  Black British playwrights had a voice in this country that must be heard.

To my everlasting pride, I am developing along with Chris Haydon , Tim Sutton and Paul Warwick, a musical about The Bristol Bus Boycott of 1963 , entitled To the Streets. Paul’s presence will always be with us as we work  to get his incredible  story staged. If I may I would like to name   a few other incredible  campaigners who we have lost over the last year or so. Mister Roy Hackett, Paul Stephenson’s friend and ally  during the bus boycott. Mister Richard Taylor,  father of Damilola Taylor for his never-ending campaigning  against knife crime, and Mister Don Kinch  a writer and director who taught me more than anyone what it means to be Black and British and whose work made me fall in love with theatre.

If there is one thing the depressing US election result  last month has reminded  me, is that we must never forget our heroes, and we must continue  to be inspired  by them. To combat discrimination  in all its forms wherever and whenever  we can in our work.  Rest in eternal power Doctor  Paul Stephenson OBE and thank you. May you never be forgotten.

Thank you very much.

 

 

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