2015 Finalist
Boi Boi Is Dead
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.
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
Agent: The Agency (London) Ltd, c/o Simon Blakey
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 Fahozi and Watford Palace Theatre Production – Directed by Lucian Msamati – photo credit: Richard Davenport.