Finalist 2014-15

Zodwa Nyoni

Play: Boi Boi is Dead

Zodwa -Nyoni

Synopsis: Afro-jazz legend, father, lover, playboy, husband, rule breaker, enigmatic force of nature. Boi Boi is dead. But not forgotten. An arresting exploration of family bonds, overwhelming love and the spirited tenacity of a new generation.

West Yorkshire Playhouse: http://www.wyp.org.uk/what's-on/2015/boi-boi-is-dead/

Tiata Fahodzi: http://www.tiatafahodzi.com/productions/boi-boi-is-dead/

Watford Palace Theatre: http://www.watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk/page/boi-boi-is-dead

Cast Breakdown:

BOI-BOI (deceased) *Note actor must be able to play trumpet at a professional level

MIRIAM - Boi-Boi’s girlfriend

STELLA - Boi-Boi’s wife

EZRA - Boi-Boi’s elder brother

UNA - Boi-Boi and Stella’s daughter

PETU - Miriam’s son from first marriage

Set: interior house in a township of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Costume: - present day fashion with incorporation of African prints

Website: www.zodwanyoni.com

Twitter: ZodwaNy

Agent: The Agency (London) Ltd, c/o Simon Blakey, sblakey@theagency.co.uk, (+44) 0207 727 1346

Bio: Zodwa Nyoni is a Zimbabwean-born playwright and poet based in Leeds, UK. As winner of the Channel 4 Playwright’s Scheme, she was Writer-in-Residence at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in 2014. She's previously been: Apprentice Poet-in-Residence at Ilkely Literature Festival (2013), Writer in Residence at Leeds Kirkgate Market (2012), Poet-in-Residence and Writer-in-Residence at I Love West Leeds Festival (2010) and BBC Radio Leeds (2006).

Boi Boi is Dead is Ms. Nyoni's first full-length play. Other theatre credits include: Tangled Roots (2014), Nine Lives (2014), Come To Where I’m From (2013), The Market (2013), Di Daakes’ Part A Di Night (2013), Home Has Died (2012), Why The Drought Returns (2012), The Night Shift (2011) and The Povo Die Till Freedom Comes (2010).

Zodwa has performed her poetry at the Venezuela Embassy in London, British Museum, Beacons Festival, Ilkely Literature Festival, Bridlington Literature Festival, Southbank Centre, Bush Theatre and Nuyorican Poets Café (New York City). Her poetry is featured in Sweet Tongues (Crocus Books), Cleaves 2, issue 2 (UK and European literary journal), Aesthetica Magazine Creative Works Annual 2009, The Warehouse Magazine, Canada, (2009 & 2008), Sable Lit Magazine and The Suitcase Book of Love Poems.

She has been the recipient of the following awards: Award for the Arts 2011 (Leeds Black Awards) and the Young Black and Asian Writers Award (The Big Issue in the North's Short Story Competition 2011).


Boi Boi is Dead - A West Yorkshire Playhouse, Tiata Fahodzi and Watford Palace Theatre production - Directed by Lucian Msamati - photo credit: Richard Davenport