Janice Okoh is a British playwright and screenwriter.
Early life
Okoh is from
Lewisham. Before becoming a playwright, she worked as a teacher.
Career
Her first play, ''Egusi Soup'' was produced in 2012 by Menagerie Theatre/Soho Theatre. In 2011 Okoh won the
Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting
The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting is a British competition for playwriting, the largest of its kind in Europe—in 2019 it received 2561 entries. Since its inception in 2005, more than 15,000 scripts have been entered, £304,000 has been awarded ...
for her play ''Three Birds'' (which would be produced in 2013), which she entered under a pseudonym Ebenezer Foot.
[Janice Okoh on her Bruntwood prize winning drama]
'' The Times'', 17 November 2011. The play was also short-listed for the
Verity Bargate Award The Verity Bargate Award is a British theatre award for new writing. It was established in 1981–82 in memory of Verity Bargate, the founder of the Soho Theatre.
Winners 1983
* Shona, by Tony Craze
* Lunch Girls, by Ron Hart
* The Shelter, by ...
and the
Alfred Fagon Award.
Okoh's play ''The Gift'' (2020) tells the story of the Egbado princess
Sarah Bonetta who was given to
Queen Victoria as a gift, and raised as her god-daughter. The play opened at the
Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built in Britain after the Second World War and is now a Grade II listed building.
Background
Coventry was the fastest growing city in ...
in January 2020 before moving on to the
Theatre Royal Stratford East.
[Ian Youngs]
The writers breathing life into black British history
BBC News, 22 January 2020. Accessed 6 July 2020. It was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She has also written for radio, including an adaptation of
Malorie Blackman’s ''Noughts & Crosses''.
Okoh has also written for television, contributing episodes of ''
Doctors
Doctor or The Doctor may refer to:
Personal titles
* Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree
* A medical practitioner, including:
** Physician
** Surgeon
** Dentist
** Veterinary physician
** Optometrist
*Other roles
** ...
'', ''
Hetty Feather'' and ''On the Edge ''. She joined the writing team for series 2 of ITV's ''
Sanditon''.
Works
Stage plays
* ''Top Brass''. Theatre 503, 2010.
* ''Egusi Soup''. Nick Hern, 2012.
* ''Three Birds'', 2013.
* ''The Gift'', 2020.
Radio plays
* ''Carnival''. Aired on BBC Radio R, 2010.
* ''Reunion''. Aired on BBC Radio 4 Extra, 2011.
* ''Noughts & Cross''. Aired on BBC Radio 4, 2014.
* ''
Silk: The Clerks Room''. Aired on BBC Radio 4, 2014.
* ''The Awakening''. Aired on BBC Radio 4, 2014.
* ''The Heart of a Woman''. Aired on BBC Radio 4, 2015.
* ''Red Earth, Red Sky''. Aired on BBC Radio 4. 2019.
* ''
Half of a Yellow Sun
''Half of a Yellow Sun'' is a novel by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Published in 2006 by 4th Estate in London, the novel tells the story of the Biafran War through the perspective of the characters Olanna, Ugwu, and Richard.
It rec ...
''. Aired on BBC Radio 4, 2020.
* ''Cane''. Aired on BBC Radio 4, 2020.
References
External links
*
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
21st-century British women writers
21st-century British dramatists and playwrights
British women screenwriters
British women dramatists and playwrights
Women soap opera writers
British women television writers
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