Gbolahan Obisesan is a British Nigerian writer and director. He is the Artistic Director at

Brixton House Brixton House is an Off-West End theatre in Brixton in the London Borough of Lambeth, located at 385 Coldharbour Lane, London, SW9 8GL. It is the successor to Ovalhouse at Kennington, and opened in 2022. Ovalhouse The roots of Brixton Ho ...

theatre. He has served as a Genesis Fellow and Associate Director at the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...

Early life

Obisesan was born in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and moved to the UK when he was 9 years old. He grew up in

Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, a ...

and

New Cross New Cross is an area in south east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwich, ...

. He attended

Southwark College Southwark College is a further education college located in the London Borough of Southwark. The college at one time had seven sites; it is now based at a building on The Cut, opposite Southwark tube station. The college has been part of Newcastl ...

, where he earned a BTech in Communication in 2000. He completed his Bachelor's degree at

London Guildhall University London Guildhall University was a university in the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2002, established when the City of London Polytechnic was awarded university status. On 1 August 2002, it merged with the University of North London to form Londo ...

and was involved with the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and registered charity in London. Its aim is to develop and nurture young people through creative arts and theatrical productions. Founded in 1956 as the world's first youth th ...

Career

Obisesan has served as a writer, actor and director. He won the Jerwood Directors Award from the

for Sus in 2010. In 2011 Obisesan's play ''Mad About the Boy'' won the

Fringe First The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

for best play. It was published by

Nick Hern Books Nick Hern Books is a London-based independent specialist publisher of plays, theatre books and screenplays. The company was founded by the former Methuen drama editor Nicholas Hern in 1988. History Nick Hern Books was founded in June 1988,Sar ...

. He directed four plays for ''epic 66 books'' at the

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. The Bush Theatre strives to create a spa ...

. It went on to tour the

Unicorn Theatre The Unicorn Theatre is a children's theatre in the London Borough of Southwark, in England. It is a custom-built, RIBA Award–winning building on Tooley Street, which opened in 2005. The theatre was designed by Keith Williams, built by Arup an ...

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 non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

and

. He was the only British writer for

Rufus Norris Rufus Norris (born 16 January 1965) is a British theatre and film director, who is currently the Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive of the National Theatre. Life and career Norris grew up in Africa and Malaysia, attended North Bromsg ...

's Feast at the

in 2013. Obisesan adapted Pigeon English by

Stephen Kelman Stephen Kelman (born 1976) is an English novelist, who grew up on Marsh Farm council estate in Luton. He studied marketing at the University of Bedfordshire,Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

in 2013. The production was taken to the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

, where it was described as "theatre made by young people, about young people, for everybody". He wrote and directed ''How Nigeria Became: A Story, and A Spear That Didn't Work,'' which ran at the

in 2014. The play commemorated the centenary of Nigeria and was nominated as one of the ''Best Productions for Young People'' in the OffWestEnd Theatre Awards. He was made the

Genesis Fellow in 2015. In 2016 Obisesan directed

Charlene James Charlene James is a British playwright and screenwriter. She won substantial acclaim for her play ''Cuttin' It'', which addresses the issue of female genital mutilation in Britain, for which she won numerous awards. Early life James grew up in ...

's Cuttin', which premiered at the

before touring to

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre c ...

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's m ...

and London's

Yard Theatre The Yard Theatre is a theatre and music venue in a converted warehouse in Hackney Wick in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It programmes theatre and performance, late-night music events, and manages two community centres where it runs work wi ...

. In 2017 it was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre. His latest production'','' ''The Fishermen'' is an adaption of the novel by

Chigozie Obioma Chigozie Obioma (born 1986) is a Nigerian writer. He is best known for writing the novels ''The Fishermen'' (2015) and ''An Orchestra of Minorities'' (2019), both of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize in their respective years of public ...

. It debuted at

HOME theatre Home cinema, also called home theaters or theater rooms, are home entertainment audio-visual systems that seek to reproduce a movie theater experience and mood using consumer electronics-grade video and audio equipment that is set up in a room ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, UK, in 2018. Obisesan was made artistic director at the

(formerly

Ovalhouse Ovalhouse, formerly called Oval House Theatre, was an Off-West End theatre in the London Borough of Lambeth, located at 52–54 Kennington Oval, London, SE11 5SW. It closed in 2020, and moved to Brixton, becoming the Brixton House theatre (located ...

) theatre in 2020. In the wake of the

George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twe ...

murder and the associated

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

, Obisesan called for British theatre to become more inclusive. At the time, less than 5% of London theatre employees were

black and minority ethnic A number of different systems of classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom exist. These schemata have been the subject of debate, including about the nature of ethnicity, how or whether it can be categorised, and the relationship betwe ...

, whilst the population of London are 40%. In an interview with

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

, Obisesan said, “perpetuating whiteness across institutions and organisations can no longer be the norm,”.

Directing and writing

* 2020 ''The Mountaintop'' * 2019 ''The Last King of Scotland'' (directed) * 2019 ''Yvette'' (directed) * 2019 ''Random'' (directed) * 2019 ''SS Mendi: Dancing the Death Drill'' (directed)'''' * 2018 ''The Fishermen'' * 2016 ''Cuttin'it'' by

(directed) * 2016 ''Zaida and Aadam'' at the

* 2015 ''Re:Exhibit'' at the

* 2014 ''Off the Page'' at the

(directed) * 2014 ''How Nigeria Became: A Story, and A Spear That Didn't Work'' at the

* 2014 ''We are Proud to Present'' at the

(directed) * 2013 ''Pigeon English'' at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

* 2013 ''Feast'' at the

* 2011 ''Mad About the Boy'' for the

* 2011 ''Sus'' at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obisesan, Gbolahan Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom Nigerian writers Nigerian theatre directors Alumni of London Guildhall University National Youth Theatre members Living people Year of birth missing (living people)