''Elmina's Kitchen'', first performed in May 2003, is the fifth play from the British

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and broadcaster, Kwame Kwei-Armah. Set in a

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

restaurant in London, ''Elmina's Kitchen'' tells a tale of family, drugs and crime on Hackney's Murder Mile. The play is centred on the character of Deli, the owner of a West Indian restaurant and father to Ashley. Ashley is a misguided teen who cannot help but be seduced by the gangster culture that surrounds him. Deli tries to run a successful restaurant while attempting to keep his son on the straight and narrow particularly when his son gets closer to a well-known local gangster, Digger.

Major productions

On stage productions

''Elmina's Kitchen'' premiered in May 2003 at the National Theatre,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where it ran until 25 August 2003. During its stint at the National Theatre, the play was directed by Angus Jackson and starred

Doña Croll Doña Croll (born 29 August 1953) is a Jamaican-born British actress. She is best known for her roles in British television soap opera playing Pearl McHugh in Channel 5's ''Family Affairs'', Vera Corrigan in the BBC Vera Corrigan '' Doctors'' ...

Oscar James Oscar James (born 25 July 1942) is a Trinidadian actor, who is based in the United Kingdom. He has had a long and varied career, but is best known for appearing on British television, in particular the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', where he pla ...

Shaun Parkes Shaun Parkes (born 9 February 1973) is an English actor. Biography At 16, Parkes enrolled at Seltec College to study drama. Two years later, he was accepted into RADA. Having acted in both theatre and television support roles, Parkes made his ...

and Don Warrington, all of whom starred in the premiere production. It also featured

Michael Obiora Michael Obiora (born 8 October 1986) is a British actor, writer, director, and producer. Life and career Michael Obiora (pronounced OH-BEE-ORA) was born on 8 October 1986 in north-west London, England, to Nigerian- Igbo parents. As a six-year- ...

and writer Kwame Kwei-Armah as Deli."Elmina's Kitchen"
thisistheatre.com.

Television productions

In June 2005, ''Elmina's Kitchen'' was televised on the UK's BBC. The show took place in authentic settings separating itself from the stage performance. The televised drama featured the cast that initially performed the play at the National Theatre.

Awards

For the National Theatre production Kwame Kwei-Armah won The ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' Award for the Most Promising New Playwright of 2003. Kwei-Armah was also shortlisted in the "best new play" category at the 2004

Laurence Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

References

2003 plays British plays English plays Plays about families