Charlie Sheen appears at Evening With Charlie Sheen
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United Kingdom Kwame Kwei-Armah is an actor, playwright, director, and broadcaster known for his contributions to British theatre and television, including his tenure as Artistic Director of the Young Vic Theatre.
The British playwright, director and actor Kwame Kwei-Armah has signed with CAA and Redefine Entertainment. He currently serves as the artistic director of the Young Vic Theatre in London.
Production company and project backer, The Story Collective, has added director, writer, actor and artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah to its board. Kwame has been the creative force behind the Young Vic Theatre in London for over six years - under his leadership, the theatre has transferred productions like 'Mandela' and 'Oklahoma!' to London's West End and Broadway, respectively.
Kwei-Armah collaborated with Idris Elba on the musical Tree, which premiered at the Manchester International Festival in 2019.
In 2018 he was made Artistic Director of the Young Vic Theatre, where he has directed Twelfth Night, Tree, The Collaboration and Benethea's Place among others.
Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE, an award-winning British playwright, director, actor, and broadcaster is in his second season as CENTERSTAGE's Artistic Director.
Kwei-Armah was so captivated by McCarten's play about Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat joining forces to create a series of paintings, that he would eventually direct The Collaboration.
Kwame Kwei-Armah is British actor, playwright, director, singer and broadcaster. In 2018 he was made Artistic Director of the Young Vic Theatre.
Kwame Kwei-Armah was born Ian Roberts on March 24, 1967, in Hillingdon, Middlesex, England, UK. He grew up in Southall, West London. At the age of 19, he changed his name after tracing his family history through the slave trade back to his ancestral African roots in Ghana. His parents were born in Grenada and his mother moved to Britain in 1962, followed by his father in 1960. Kwei-Armah attended Barbara Speake Stage School in London. He first gained recognition as an actor, notably playing paramedic Finlay Newton in the BBC medical drama ‘Casualty’ from 1999 to 2004. His acting career also included roles in ‘Holby City,’ ‘Between the Lines,’ and ‘The Bill.’ In 2003, he participated in ‘Comic Relief does Fame Academy’ and released an album entitled ‘Kwame.’
Kwei-Armah transitioned into a significant career as a playwright and director. His first play, ‘Bitter Herb’ (1998), earned him a Peggy Ramsay award and led to a writer-in-residence position at the Bristol Old Vic. In 2003, his fifth play, ‘Elmina’s Kitchen,’ premiered at the National Theatre, receiving a nomination for the Best New Play at the 2004 Laurence Olivier Awards. He was also awarded the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising New Playwright in 2003. He received a BAFTA nomination in 2005 for the television adaptation of ‘Elmina’s Kitchen.’ From 2011 to 2018, he served as the artistic director of Baltimore’s Center Stage Theater in the United States. In 2018, he became the first black Briton to head a major British national theater when he was appointed Artistic Director of the Young Vic in London, a position he held until February 2024. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to drama.
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