What are the themes of your play?
Hope and hopelessness, survival mode, leadership, community (local and global), change making (the necessity and costs) and legacy.
Why did you write it and why now?
The Fifth Pan African Congress is a pivotal moment in global history. From Manchester to the world, it shone a light on the oppression experience by those living under the British Empire and called for a united liberation strategy. What the activists, scholars and artists were demanding in 1945 is still being called for 80 years later. As necessary as it is to remain in the fight and seek change decade after decade, there is also a psychological, physical and emotional toll to activism. I wanted us to have this conversation too because liberation is multilayered and complex.
Which playwrights are you influenced by and why?
The mundane is made epic in August Wilson’s work. Lynn Nottage’s process of turning research into drama is how I work. The humanity and poetry pushes through in her plays. I like the fusion of form, poetry and spirituality in Wole Soyinka’s work. It pushes me to experiment. Winsome Pinnock’s voice has been constant and clear. She has such a strong body of work.
What do you hope to achieve as a playwright?
I enjoy storytelling. There’s nothing like group of people in a shared space, experiencing a moment live. It’s affecting when an audience is moved, challenged, laughs, cries, escapes or has a new revelation. Something shifts inside of them.