Levi David Addai is a British playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for the award-winning '' Damilola, Our Loved Boy'', the critically acclaimed ''

Youngers ''Youngers'' is a British comedy drama series created by Benjamin Kuffuor and Levi David Addai. It began airing on E4 on 20 March 2013. It is produced by Big Talk Productions. The series has been picked up for international distribution by B ...

'' and his stage plays ''93.2FM'' and ''Oxford Street''.

Personal

Addai was born in South London to

Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...

parents. He studied at

Brunel University Brunel University of London (BUL) is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. It became a university ...

Plays

Addai wrote his first play, ''93.2FM'', as part of the Royal Court Young Writers Programme. It was performed at

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

in 2005, and then revived in 2006 before touring to Cardiff, Birmingham, Liverpool and Brighton. In a '' Times'' review it was said that "There is an enormous generosity in Addai's writing. He shows us the caring, supportive side of community.. this is a memorable and decidedly promising debut."Marlowe, Sam. "Lives and loyalties give radio play a warm heart; Theatre."

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

ondon, England9 September 2006: 35.

Academic OneFile Gale is a global provider of research and digital learning resources. The company is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, United States, west of Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U. ...

. Web. 22 November 2013. Addai's second play, ''House of Agnes'', premiered in March 2008 at the

Ovalhouse Ovalhouse, formerly called Oval House Theatre, was an Off-West End theatre in the London Borough of Lambeth, located at 52–54 Kennington Oval, London, SE11 5SW. It closed in 2020, and moved to Brixton, becoming the Brixton House theatre (locate ...

in a co-production with

Paines Plough Paines Plough is a British touring theatre company founded in 1974, currently led by artistic directors Charlotte Bennett and Katie Posner. The company commissions, develops and produces new plays for touring, and helps playwrights develop their ...

.Shuttleworth, Ian. "House of Agnes." ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' 11 March 2008: 17.

. Web. 22 November 2013. A review in the ''

'' said "Addai writes his characters' most heartfelt emotions with the clarity and sincerity of a younger Richard Cameron." Addai's third play, ''Oxford Street'', starring Ashley Walters and

Daniel Kaluuya Daniel Kaluuya (; born 24 February 1989) is an English actor. His work encompasses both screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Daniel Kaluuya, his accolades include an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two British Academy ...

'premiered at the Royal Court in May 2008, before transferring for a limited run in

Elephant and Castle Elephant and Castle is an area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station of the same name. The n ...

shopping centre.Marlowe, Sam. "Oxford Street; Theatre."

ondon, England12 May 2008: 14.

. Web. 22 November 2013. ''

'' in a review said "All the tawdry dazzle of London's most famous shopping district glitters in the third play by the sharp-eyed young talent Levi David Addai... This is a joyous hymn to our flawed, fabulous city." ''Oxford Street'' was nominated for a Writers' Guild award in the "Best Play (Theatre)" category (2008); and was nominated for the "Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre" category of the

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

(2009). His play for Polka Theatre, ''I Have A Dream'', ran in September 2011. A new play, ''Blacklands'', won the Alfred Fagon Award (2011).

Television

In 2011, Addai wrote a short film, ''Micah'', starring

for the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

series '' Coming Up'' which highlights films made for television by new directors and writers. It was broadcast in August and screened at the

Edinburgh Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...

. The short led to his winning "Best Breakthrough Talent" at the CDN Diversity Awards (2011). BBC Current Affairs commissioned Levi to write the drama ''My Murder'' starring

John Boyega John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega (born 17 March 1992), known professionally as John Boyega, is a British actor and producer. He first gained recognition in Britain for his role as a teenage gang leader in the comedy horror film ''Attack the B ...

, based on a gang-related honey trap murder which premiered on BBC3 on 26 March 2012. ''My Murder'' won a

Broadcast Awards ''Broadcast'' is a monthly magazine for the United Kingdom television and radio industry, owned by Media Business Insight. History ''Broadcast'' was started in 1973 by Rod Allen, who went on to work at LWT, HTV and HarperCollinsInteractive. ...

(2013) in the "Best Single Drama" category; it won "Best Drama" at the Movie Video & Screen Awards (2012); it received a recognition at the 2012 Screen Nation Film and TV Awards for "Diversity in Drama Production"; and was nominated for "Best Single Drama" at the 2013

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

awards. Addai was lead writer, co-creator and associate producer of ''

'', an E4 critically acclaimed drama series, which was first broadcast on Channel 4 on 20 March 2013, and ran for two series. ''The Guardian'' in a review said, "Youngers has heart, conviction and a spring in its trainers so pneumatic it's surely only a matter of time before it crunks itself clean through the ceiling tiles". It was nominated for a Screen Nation Film and Television Awards for Diversity in Drama Production (2014), a Broadcast Award for Best Multichannel Programme (2014), and a BBC Radio 1 Teen Award for Best British TV show (2013). Addai's 90-minute

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

drama ''Damilola, Our Loved Boy'', starring Babou Ceesay and

Wunmi Mosaku Oluwunmi Mosaku (; born July 31, 1986) is a Nigerian-born British actress. She is known for her roles as Joy in the BBC Two miniseries '' Moses Jones'' (2009) and Holly Lawson in the ITV series ''Vera'' (2011–2012). She won the BAFTA TV Award ...

, tells the story of Damilola Taylor from the point of view of the Taylor family. It won the Best Single Drama

BAFTA TV Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards, are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in ...

and the Screen Nation Film and Television Award for Diversity in Drama Production. Other wins include the Banff Rockie Best Television Movie Award, the CDN Best Drama Award and the CDN Best Author/Creative Award. It was nominated for a

for Best Writer, a Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Single Drama, and the Banff Rockie Special Jury Prize. It has won at the inaugural Diversity Awards and at the Movie, Video & Screen Awards. Other nominations include best single drama for the Broadcast Awards 2018 and the RTS Awards 2018. In 2016, the BBC announced they were producing an adaptation of acclaimed YA novels ''

Noughts and Crosses Tic-tac-toe (American English), noughts and crosses (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), or Xs and Os (Canadian English, Canadian or Hiberno-English, Irish English) is a paper-and-pencil game for two players who ta ...

'', to be written by Addai, with

Matthew Graham Matthew Graham is a British television writer, and the co-creator of the BBC/Kudos (production company), Kudos Film and Television science fiction series ''Life on Mars (UK TV series), Life on Mars'', which debuted in 2006 on BBC One and has re ...

. They had to bow out and

Toby Whithouse Toby Lawrence Whithouse (; born 5 July 1970) is an English actor, screenwriter and playwright. His highest-profile work has been the creation of the BBC Three supernatural television series ''Being Human (British TV series), Being Human''. He ...

took over in 2018. Addai's four-part serial '' Dark Mon£y'', starring Babou Ceesay and

Jill Halfpenny Jill Halfpenny (born 15 July 1975) is an English actress who first garnered attention playing Nicola Dobson in the coming-of-age BBC drama series '' Byker Grove'' (1989–1992). She became more widely known for her roles as Rebecca Hopkins on ...

, was first broadcast between 8 and 16 July 2019 on

and on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

in 2022. It deals with the ordeal of a family of a sexual abuse victim.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Addai, Levi David Living people English people of Ghanaian descent British dramatists and playwrights British male screenwriters British male dramatists and playwrights 21st-century British dramatists and playwrights 21st-century British male writers 21st-century British screenwriters Year of birth missing (living people)