What are the themes of your play?
The themes of my play are Black British boyhood, friendship, and what it means to see and be seen.
Why did you write this play and why now?
I wrote this play because of a conversation I had with my younger brother about the disconnect between how the world sees him and who he is. My brother isn’t into theatre and I wanted to write a play that he and other Black boys would enjoy and see themselves in. My brother is into stuff like fantasy, anime and music, so I wanted to write a world of Black boyhood that is experimental, playful, dark and funny.
Which playwrights are you influence by and in what way?
With this play I was really influenced by the surreal world and the use of language in Pass Over by Antoinette Nwandu. This draft was also really inspired by conversations I had with a really incredible playwright – Nazareth Hassan! – about experimenting with liminal space and leaving questions unanswered. And (though she only ever wrote two plays that I know of) I will forever be influenced by the life’s work of Toni Morrison for the conviction with which she told stories.
What do you want to achieve as a playwright?
I want to make a good living writing work that is always fun, moving and honest.