Paul Boakye – författare

This is a wide-ranging selection by theatre director Yvonne Brewster Boy with Beer by Paul Boakye is a funny and sexy story of a Guardian-reading gay photographer who finds his fantasy "African Prince" - "Boakye's writing is brash and exceedingly fresh...Boy with Beer has cutting edge" (Independent); A Jamaican Airman Foresees his Death by Fred D'Aguiar takes Yeats's famous poem and twists it into a rhapsody from a colonial perspective in WW2 Scotland - "A tough, warm and thrillingly individual play full of live-wire humour and athletic assurance...The writing is reckless but controlled, the humour dark, ribald and dangerous...simply bursts with that fiery energy of which true theatre is made" (John Peter, Sunday Times).Munda Negra by Bonnie Greer examines the heart of darkness in Western civilisation - "Greer is clearly a writer of imagination" (The Times); Scrape off the Black by Tunde Ikoli is an East End mixed-race family drama - "Ikoli's play is funny, wry and at times positively searing" (Jim Hiley, Listener); Talking in Tongues by Winsome Pinnock explores issues around mixed race matches in modern-day Britain - "Winsome Pinnock, a writer of extraordinary promise, is here expressing with guile and tenacity, many unsayable things about sexual and social miscegenation...she writes with enormous verve." (Michael Coveney, Observer)

Black gay men are under the microscope in Paul Boakye's classic 1990s fly-on-the-wall drama, "e;Boy with Beer"e;. Described as 'Britain's first Black gay theatre' and 'the final taboo' by The Voice Newspaper, this inspired, universal boy meets boy story never gets old and has something for everyone. Boakye's dialogue is sharp, edgy, and always on point. His two leading characters are fiercely matched as a lovable thug meets his upwardly-mobile counterpart, forming an unlikely bond in this taut urban drama. Over three decades after its controversial London debut, "e;Boy with Beer"e; still pulls a punch as the original hookup drama and touches on many contemporary issues facing gay men today. Will they or won't they? That is the question. You won't be the only one squirming in your seat while you follow the downright erotic tale of Donovan and Karl as they hook up, argue, and get lowdown and dirty over three nights, each separated by a month. With every twist and turn in the unpredictable journey, you'll hope and pray that love can conquer all.

A bold play collection representing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ+) experiences, from Black British perspectives, this anthology contains seven radical plays by Black writers that change the face of theatre in Britain. With an international reach connecting Africa, the Caribbean and the Diaspora, these plays address themes including same-sex love, sex, homophobia, apartheid, migration and space travel. The collection captures the historical scope and range of Black British LGBTIQ+ theatre, from the 1980s to 2021. Including a range of forms, from monologue to musicals, realist drama to club-performance, readers will journey through the development of Black Queer theatre in Britain. Through a helpful critical introduction, this book provides important socio-political and historical context, highlighting and illuminating key themes in the plays. Each play is preceded by an intergenerational ‘in-conversation’ piece between two Black British LGBTIQ+ artists and writers who will talk about their own work in relation to the play, looking back at the history and on into the future. Through these rare conversations with highly acclaimed award-winning practitioners, readers will also gain an insight into the theatre industry, funding, producing, venues as well as the politics of identity, the diversity of LGBTIQ+ lives and the richness of Black British cultures.

A bold play collection representing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ+) experiences, from Black British perspectives, this anthology contains seven radical plays by Black writers that change the face of theatre in Britain. With an international reach connecting Africa, the Caribbean and the Diaspora, these plays address themes including same-sex love, sex, homophobia, apartheid, migration and space travel. The collection captures the historical scope and range of Black British LGBTIQ+ theatre, from the 1980s to 2021. Including a range of forms, from monologue to musicals, realist drama to club-performance, readers will journey through the development of Black Queer theatre in Britain. Through a helpful critical introduction, this book provides important socio-political and historical context, highlighting and illuminating key themes in the plays. Each play is preceded by an intergenerational ‘in-conversation’ piece between two Black British LGBTIQ+ artists and writers who will talk about their own work in relation to the play, looking back at the history and on into the future. Through these rare conversations with highly acclaimed award-winning practitioners, readers will also gain an insight into the theatre industry, funding, producing, venues as well as the politics of identity, the diversity of LGBTIQ+ lives and the richness of Black British cultures.