Inua Marc Mohammed Onore de Ellams II (born 23 October 1984) is a Nigerian-born British poet, playwright and performer. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to the arts.
Work
Ellams has written for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal National Theatre and the BBC. In June 2018, Ellams was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature as part of its 40 Under 40 initiative. He took part in The Complete Works mentoring programme for poets of colour. In January 2025, it was announced that Ellams had joined the writing team of the fifteenth series of Doctor Who. Ellams is the first black man to have written for the television series, and the fourth black writer overall (after Malorie Blackman, Charlene James and Sharma Angel Walfall).
Poetry
- Thirteen Fairy Negro Tales (flipped eye, 2004)
- Candy Coated Unicorns and Converse All Stars (flipped eye, 2010)
- The Wire-Headed Heathen (Akashic Books, 2015)
Featured in anthologies
The Salt Book of Younger Poets (Salt, 2010)
- The Valley Press Anthology of Prose Poetry (Valley Press, 2018)
- Ten: The New Wave (Bloodaxe, 2013)
Performances and plays
The 14th Tale
Ellams's one-man show The 14th Tale was awarded an Edinburgh Fringe First at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2009, and later transferred to the Royal National Theatre, London.
Untitled
A one-man show staged at the Soho Theatre in 2010, telling the story of twins born on Nigeria's independence day.
Barber Shop Chronicles
Barber Shop Chronicles is a play set in black barber shops in six cities on one day, against the backdrop of a football match between Chelsea and Barcelona. The play explores the African diaspora in the UK, masculinity, homosexuality and religion. The play was produced by the National Theatre, Fuel Theatre and Leeds Playhouse and was shortlisted for the Alfred Fagon Award in 2017. Following a period of touring, the play was also performed at the Roundhouse in 2019, and a recording of the National Theatre production was streamed in May 2020 as part of the National Theatre at Home season. For the production, Ellams recorded 60 hours of "male banter" in barbershops all over Africa and in London at his barber Peter's shop Emmanuel's in Clapham Junction. This project originally did not secure funding.
The Half God of Rainfall
In April 2019, his new play, The Half God of Rainfall, was presented at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, in advance of its run at London's Kiln Theatre, as well as its publication as a book.
Three Sisters
In December 2019–February 2020, a reworking by Ellams of Chekhov's play Three Sisters was performed at the Royal National Theatre, London. The play restaged the story in the 1960s in the midst of the Biafran war in Nigeria.
An Evening with an Immigrant
In 2020, Ellams performed a live stage programme with anecdotes of his childhood and his experiences as a refugee. An excerpt was shown at the Hay Festival on 24 May 2020.
Awards
- 2008: winner of an Edinburgh Fringe First Award for The 14th Tale.
- 2014: Live Canon International Poetry Prize.
- 2017: shortlisted for the Alfred Fagon Award, for The Barber Shop Chronicles.
- 2018: elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
- 2020: winner of the medal for Poetry at the Hay Festival for The Half God of Rainfall and for The Barber Shop Chronicles,
References
External links
- Official website
- Interview with Inua Ellams by The Poetry Extension
- skill issue (2010). "Theatre review: Untitled at Soho Theatre". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
