Elmina's Kitchen: 60 Years of Modern Plays

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You can't just walk into dis bad man t'ing, you gotta learn the whole science of it. You step into that arena and you better be able to dance wid death til it mek you dizzy. Kwame Kwei-Armahs ground-breaking play about British black male identity and gang culture premiered at the National Theatre in 2003 to unanimous critical praise. It later transferred to the West End, making Kwei-Armah only the second black British playwright to have a play staged there and the winner of the Evening Standards Most Promising Playwright Award. On Hackneys Murder Mile, Deli is trying to make a living as an honest man and revive the fortunes of his mother's West Indian takeaway. His 19-year-old son Ashley has different plans and longs to follow in the footsteps of family friend and local gangster Digger. As Deli finds himself and his business pulled further into the world he so desperately wants to leave behind questions of family and gang loyalty rise to the surface, leading to a shocking and conflicted conclusion. Elmina's Kitchen is a thrilling, engaging portrait of a one-parent family struggling to stay within the law that takes readers behind the headlines and shows how easy it is to make the wrong choices when youre struggling to survive. Elmina's Kitchen premiered at the National Theatre, London, in May 2003. Methuen Dramas iconic Modern Plays series began in 1959 with the publication of Shelagh Delaneys A Taste of Honey and has grown over six decades to now include more than 1000 plays by some of the best writers from around the world. This new special edition hardback of Elminas Kitchen was published to celebrate 60 years of Methuen Dramas Modern Plays in 2019, chosen by a public vote and features a brand new foreword by Paterson Joseph.

Reviews

'This is an angry, provocative, vital play, one that demands change in society while recognising that there are no easy solutions, and is passionately political while understating that the best way to communicate with people is to keep them entertained. It is thrilling to see it at the National - and will be even more thrilling if it inspires other black playwrights to follow its lead * The Guardian *
Elmina's Kitchen does just what the best contemporary theatre should. It urges people with half closed minds and averted eyes to confront the ignored and evaded problems of our time. * Evening Standard *
A scorching drama about the black experience in Britain's inner cities . . . there's no mistaking its raw power, humanity and urgent concern. * Daily Telegraph *
Set in London's contemporary East End, this is an assured, humorous, ultimately grim drama . . . a revenge tragedy for our times, with violent retribution tied in with today's complicated black culture of "respect" * Independent *

Author Bio

Kwame Kwei-Armah is British actor, playwright, director, singer and broadcaster. In 2018 he was made Artistic Director of the Young Vic Theatre, where he has directed Twelfth Night and Tree. From 2011 to 2018 he was the Artistic Director of Baltimore Center Stage where his directing credits include: Jazz, Marley, One Night in Miami, Amadeus, and Dance of the Holy Ghosts. As a playwright his credits include Tree (Manchester International Festival, Young Vic), One Love (Birmingham Repertory Theatre), Beneathas Place (Baltimore Center Stage) Elminas Kitchen, Fix Up, Statement of Regret (National Theatre) Let There Be Love and Seize the Day (Tricycle Theatre). Kwame was an Associate Director of the Donmar Warehouse and has served on the boards of the National Theatre, Tricycle Theatre, and Theatre Communications Group. He is Chair of the 2019 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, was Chancellor of the University of the Arts London from 2010 to 2015, and in 2012 was awarded an OBE for Services to Drama.