Bola Agbaje is a British-born

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

origin."The Write Stuff: Stenham & Other Courtiers"
''What's On Stage'', 28 April 2008.

Biography

Born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Agbaje has spent almost her entire life in England, living in Nigeria between the ages of six and eight. Formerly an actress, Agbaje's works explore the African condition both in England and abroad, mainly exploring the assimilation and social dynamics in African communities. Works such as

Gone Too Far! ''Gone Too Far!'' is a play written by Bola Agbaje. It was produced at the Royal Court Theatre in February 2007, and won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre in 2008. Further reading * * References Ex ...

, and ''Belong'' examine these elements alongside the tensions and conflicts between racial and ethnic identities. Agbaje's first play ''

'' was produced at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal ...

, where it won the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre."Gone Too Far! on Tour"
Royal Court, 2008. It was later revived for very brief runs at the

Albany Theatre The Albany is a multi-purpose arts centre in Deptford, south-east London. Facilities include a flexible performance space holding up to 300 seated or 500 standing and a bar, two studio theatres, a performance cafe and rehearsal / meeting rooms. T ...

and

Hackney Empire Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as ‘the most beautiful theatre in ...

. Agjabe also wrote the plays ''The Burial'' and '' Belong''. In 2018, Agbaje was elected as a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, ele ...

(RSL), one of 40 under the age of 40 elected in an RSL initiative designed "to address historical biases".

References

Living people Laurence Olivier Award winners Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Year of birth missing (living people) Black British writers {{UK-playwright-stub