Elmina's Kitchen

Description

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. Deli is trying to revive the fortunes of his mother's restaurant in Murder Mile, Hackney. But where does his son disappear to on the night of the re-opening? And why does his friend Digger offer him protection? Elmina's Kitchen is a thrilling, engaging portrait of a one-parent family struggling to stay within the law while the Yardies are carving up the neighbourhood. Elmina's Kitchen premiered at the Royal National Theatre, London, in May 2003.

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), Beneatha's Place (Baltimore Center Stage) Elmina's 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.

'Guns, drugs, crime, racism, the effects of single parenthood, the ease with which young black men reject education, the troubled relationship between black Britons and "back home", the frustrated desire to achieve ... Kwame Kwei-Armah's play covers an awful lot of bases. What makes Elmina's Kitchen remarkable, however, is his ability to address all these issues without hectoring. He takes us behind the headlines from Hackney's Murder Mile, bringing a human face to London's gang violence and showing how easy it is to make the wrong choice when struggling to survive.' Maddy Costa, 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.' Nicholas de Jongh, Evening Standard '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.' Maddy Costa, The Guardian 'a scorching drama about the black experience in Britain's inner cities ... there's no mistaking its raw power, humanity and urgent concern.' Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph 'Set in London's contemporary East End, this is an assured, humourous, ultimately grim drama ... a revenge tragedy for our times, with violent retribution tied in with today's complicated black culture of "respect".' Kate Bassett, Independent on Sunday