Michael McMillan (born 1962) is a British playwright, artist, curator and educator, born in England to parents who were migrants from

St Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, sometimes known simply as Saint Vincent or SVG, is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the south ...

(SVG)."Artists: Michael McMillan"
Peckham Platform. As an academic, he focuses his research on "the creative process, ethnography, oral histories, material culture and performativity". He is the author of several plays, and as an artist his first installation, ''The West Indian Front Room'', was exhibited at the

Geffrye Museum The Museum of the Home, formerly the Geffrye Museum, is a free museum in the 18th-century Grade I-listed former almshouses on Kingsland Road in Hoxton, London. The museum's change of name was announced in 2019. The museum explores home and home ...

in 2005, going on to inspire a 2007

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

documentary ''Tales from the Front Room'', a website, a 2009 book, ''The Front Room: Migrant Aesthetics in the Home'', and various international commissions, such as ''Van Huis Uit: The Living Room of Migrants in the Netherlands'' (Imagine IC,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, and Netherlands Tour, 2007–08) and ''A Living Room Surrounded by Salt'' (IBB,

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

, 2008). A more recent installation of the Walter Rodney Bookshop featured as part of the 2015 exhibition '' No Colour Bar'' at the

Guildhall Art Gallery The Guildhall Art Gallery houses the art collection of the City of London, England. The museum is located in the Moorgate area of the City of London. It is a stone building in a semi-Gothic style intended to be sympathetic to the historic Guil ...

. McMillan has said of the range of his work: "I was a painter before I was a playwright/dramatist and through making live art pieces and writing critically about performance, photography, visual arts culture, I have come home in a sense to fine arts, through making mixed-media installations, which given my interest in performativity background can be seen also as theatre sets. My work and practice is often interdisciplinary using mixed media, installations and performance."

Life and career

Michael McMillan was born in 1962 in

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

, UK, of

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

migrant heritage; as he has said, "Both my parents came from St Vincent & the Grenadines and ... were 'arrivants', to use

Edward Kamau Brathwaite Edward Kamau Brathwaite, CHB (; 11 May 1930 – 4 February 2020), was a Barbadian poet and academic, widely considered one of the major voices in the Caribbean literary canon.Staff (2011)"Kamau Brathwaite." New York University, Department of Co ...

's term, from colonies where they were imbued with English culture.""Michael McMillan reviews - Migrations: Journeys into British Art - Tate Britain 31 Jan - 12 Aug 2012" (biographical note)
''

Wasafiri ''Wasafiri'' is a quarterly British literary magazine covering international contemporary writing. Founded in 1984, the magazine derives its name from a Swahili word meaning "travellers" that is etymologically linked with the Arabic word "safari ...

'', 7 March 2012. Given this background, he has noted: "I grew up with learning three languages: the creole spoken by my parents as a fusion of an English lexicon and an African grammar; the

Jamaican English Jamaican English, including Jamaican Standard English, is the variety of English native to Jamaica and is the official language of the country. A distinction exists between Jamaican English and Jamaican Patois (a creole language), though ...

spoken on the streets of Hackney and around London and the London English spoken at school." As a youth McMillan attended the

Keskidee Centre In 1971, Guyanese-born architect and cultural activist Oscar Abrams, Oscar Winston Abrams (1937–1996), who had settled in Britain in 1958, bought a run-down Victorian architecture, Victorian mission hall from the Shaftesbury Society for £9000 ...

, a Black-led theatre and arts community space in London. The Keskidee was the first of its kind in England and had a great influence on McMillan:

"Keskidee Arts Centre was the first Black community arts centre in the UK, off Caledonian Road in Islington. It was run by the Guyanese-born Oscar Abrams, with the African-American Rufus Collin as Artistic Director. It was where Linton Kwesi Johnson developed dub poetry while running the library,
Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American Marxist and feminist political activist, philosopher, academic, and author. She is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Feminist Studies and History of Consciousness at the University of ...
spoke, and
Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...
filmed the video for 'Is This Love?'. I went there often as a teenager, seeing Black theatre productions like Edgar White's 'Lament for Rastafari',
Derek Walcott Sir Derek Alton Walcott OM (23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017) was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright. He received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works include the Homeric epic poem '' Omeros'' (1990), which many critics view "as ...
's 'Pantomine' and
Lennox Brown Lennox Sydney Brown (24 November 1910 – 1 September 1983) was a South African cricketer who played in two Tests in 1931–32. Len Brown was a right-handed lower-order batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler who turned to bowling leg-break ...
's 'Throne in an Autumn Room'. I would eventually become part of this world as a playwright.

McMillan won an essay competition, run by

Len Garrison Lenford Alphonso (Kwesi) Garrison (13 June 1943 – 18 February 2003) was an educationalist, community activist and historian whose life's work was to catalogue the development of the black British identity and its history and promote the works ...

's ACER (Afro-Caribbean Education Resource), and after going to

FESTAC 77 Festac '77, also known as the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (the first festival took place in Dakar, 1966, the second in Algiers in July 1969) was a major international festival held in Lagos, Nigeria, from 15 Januar ...

(the Second World Festival of African Arts and Culture), he wrote his play ''The School Leaver'' (1978), which was produced at the

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 ...

's Young Writers' Festival."Michael McMillan"
Black Plays Archive, National Theatre. McMillan read sociology and African and Asian studies at

Sussex University The University of Sussex is a public research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the South Downs National Park, and provide ...

, graduating in 1984,"Michael McMillan , St. Vincent – UK"
Uprising Art, 12 April 2012. and then earned an MA degree in Independent Film & Video from

Central Saint Martins Central Saint Martins is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of short ...

, London, in 1991."CSM Alumnus Michael McMillan"
en>route, UAL. From 2000, he was a

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its lon ...

Writing Fellow at the

London College of Communication The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. Its origins are in education for the printing and retail industries; it now specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation ...

and went on to become, since 2003, a Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at the

University of the Arts London The University of the Arts London is a public collegiate university in London, England, United Kingdom. It specialises in arts, design, fashion, and the performing arts. The university is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of ...

(UAL), and a researcher and Associate Lecturer at the

London College of Fashion The London College of Fashion is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers undergraduate and postgraduate study, short courses, study-abroad courses and business t ...

(LCF), teaching predominantly Cultural & Historical Studies. He was awarded a practice-based Arts Doctorate from

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

in 2010."Clothes, Cloth and Culture Group: 'Saga Bwoys' and Bedouin Women"

InIVA Iniva (which was formerly written as inIVA) is the Institute of International Visual Art, a visual arts organisation based in London that collaborates with contemporary artists, curators and writers. Iniva runs the Stuart Hall Library, and is b ...

, 25 September 2014. In 2010–11, he was Arts in Health & Well Being artist-in-residence in

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

Writing

McMillan's interest in oral history and the stories of first-generation Caribbean migrants is reflected in early writings such as ''Brother to Brother'' (1996) and ''The Black Boy Pub & Other Stories'' (1997), which used recordings of interviews done during a year's residence in High Wycombe, where many of those arriving in particular from SVG had settled. As a dramatist, he has had work performed and produced by 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 ...

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

, and in venues across the UK.Michael McMillan
at Doollee.com. His play ''The School Leaver'' was published by the

Black Ink Collective Black Ink Collective was a British publishing company founded in 1978 to publish the work of young Black writers in the UK. The Collective started as a publisher, their first book ''Black Ink'', published in 1978, was an anthology of work by loc ...

in 1978, when McMillan was 16 years old, and was reprinted several times. His other plays include ''Master Juba'' (2006), ''Babel Junction'' (2006), and a new translation of

Bertholt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

's ''

The Good Person of Sezuan ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'', set in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

in the 1980s. McMillan has written a number of essays and articles in national and international publications, and has presented papers at conferences and symposiums in the UK, Europe, Canada, USA, Caribbean and Brazil, including as keynote speaker at the 2006 "Islands in Between" Conference on Language, Literature & History of the Eastern Caribbean (

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

, School of Continuing Studies, St. Vincent & the Grenadines). McMillan contributed towards the 2024 boo
''Encounters with James Baldwin: Celebrating 100 Years.''

Installations

Alongside teaching, McMillan has also worked on mixed-media exhibitions and publications. His first installation, ''The West Indian Front Room'' (he uses "the term 'West Indian' as it refers to a particular moment of post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Caribbean migration to England and the wider Diaspora"),Clelia Coussonnet
"Exclusive Interview: Michael McMillan – in the framework of the exhibition Who More Sci-Fi than Us" (May 2012)
Uprising Art, 2 July 2012. drew on memories of the domestic setting created by his parents and their like after they migrated to Britain, featuring a recreation of a typical front room of the 1970s to raise "questions about the constructions of diaspora, identity, race, class and gender in the domestic interior". According to cultural theorist Stuart Hall, "The front room is a conservative element of black domestic life, which is more complex and rich than the generality of the society ever realises"; nevertheless, McMillan recalled in an article in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'':

"Growing up in our front room caused me much aesthetic distress. The wallpaper and carpet never seemed to match, and Jim Reeves would be crooning from the Blue Spot radiogram on a Sunday. This room was based on the Victorian parlour and was inscribed with a formal code of behaviour because it was reserved for receiving guests. It was packed with furniture, ornaments and soft furnishings surrounded by a gallery of pictures and photographs."

Mounted at London's

in October 2005, the critically acclaimed exhibition resonated with more than 35,000 visitors who represented a variety of ages, genders and social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Different versions have since been remade in other countries and cultural settings, including in the Netherlands and in Curaçao, and the associated BBC4 television documentary ''Tales from the Front Room'' was broadcast in 2007. He has also made presentations on ''The Front Room'' at the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

(2009),

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research uni ...

, Worcester (2009) and

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, (2008)."The committee"
Origins of the Afro Comb. A book entitled ''The Front Room: Migrant Aesthetics in the Home'' followed in 2009. Another installation-based exhibition was ''The Beauty Shop'' (2008) at the 198 Gallery in south London, where, as with ''The Front Room'', McMillan "tried to create a tangible sense of performance. Visitors were encouraged to respond to them as theatre as much as art." In 2015, he recreated the Walter Rodney Bookshop as an installation within the exhibition '' No Colour Bar: Black British Art in Action 1960–1990'' at the

(July 2015–January 2016), and participated in related events. Another recent work is ''Doing Nothing Is Not An Option'', a site-responsive mixed-media installation to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of

Ken Saro-Wiwa Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa (10 October 1941 – 10 November 1995) was a Nigerians, Nigerian writer, teacher, television producer, and social rights activist. Saro-Wiwa was a member of the Ogoni people, an ethnic minority in Nigeria whose homeland ...

by exploring the relationship between local people in

Peckham Peckham ( ) is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vi ...

and the memory of the

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

n writer and activist.

Selected curatorial work

* ''Van Huis Uit: The Living Room of Migrants in the Netherlands'' (Imagine IC, Amsterdam, and Netherlands Tour, 2007–08) * ''A Living Room Surrounded by Salt'' (Instituto Buena Bista,

, 2008) * ''The Beauty Shop'' (

198 Contemporary Arts and Learning 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning, also known as the 198 Gallery or 198, is an art space and gallery in Railton Road, Brixton, London. History The organisation, originally named Roots Community, was founded in 1988 by John "Noel" Morgan and Zoe ...

, Brixton, 25 January 2008 – 28 March 2013) * ''The West Indian Front Room'' (

, 2005–06) * ''The Southall Story'' (South Bank Centre, 2010) * "I Miss My Mum’s Cooking" (in ''Who More Sci-Fi Than Us'', KAdE Kunsthal,

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht, Netherlands. As of 31 January 2023, the municipality had ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, 2012) * "The Waiting Room" (in ''Stories and Journeys'',

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

Museum & Art Gallery, Bangor,

, 2012) * "My Hair: Black Hair Culture, Style and Politics" (in ''Origins of the Afro Comb'', Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 2013) * "The Walter Rodney Bookshop" (in '' No Colour Bar: Black British Art in Action 1960–1990'',

, 10 July 2015 – 24 January 2016)

Selected publications

* ''The School Leaver'' (

, 1978) * ''On Duty'' (Akira Press, 1984) * Editor, ''Words, Sounds & Power Anthology'' (Centerprise Publishing Project, 1988) * ''Living Proof: Views of a World Living with HIV/AIDS'' (Artist Agency, 1992). * ''The Black Boy Pub & Other Stories: The black experience in High Wycombe'' (Wycombe District Council, 1997). * ''If I Could Fly: An anthology of writings from young men at Orchard Lodge Resource Centre'' (Southwark Social Services, 1998). * ''Growing Up Is Hard To Do: A Book For Young People & Adults About Sexual Health'' (Young People's Health Project, 2000). * ''Same Difference: 25 Years of International Youth Volunteering with the Daneford Trust'' (2006). * ''The Waiting Room: An audio-visual tale of an artist in residence at the Alaw Ward (Cancer & Palliative Care Unit) in Ysbyty Gwynedd & Rheumatology Clinics in Ysbyty Gwynedd and Ysbyty Llandudno'' (2006) * ''The Front Room: Migrant Aesthetics in the Home'' (Black Dog Publishing, 2009). Revised edition, ''The Front Room: Diaspora Migrant Aesthetics in the Home'' (illus; with Foreword by

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's then youngest publisher as well as the first black female book p ...

Lund Humphries Ashgate Publishing was an academic book and journal publisher based in Farnham (Surrey, United Kingdom). It was established in 1967 and specialised in the social sciences, arts, humanities and professional practice. It had an American office in B ...

, 2023, .

Plays and performance pieces

* ''The School Leaver'' (

, 1978) * ''Hard Time Pressure'' (Royal Court Theatre, 1980) * ''Carve Your Name'' (

The Old Vic Theatre The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. It was established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...

, 1981) * ''Day of Action'' (Brent Black People's Theatre, 1981) * ''On Duty'' (Carlton Centre, Kilburn, 1983) * ''First Impressions'' (Perspective Theatre Company, 1988) * ''Portrait of a Shopping Centre as a Cathedral'' (1990) * ''The Last Blind Date'' (Artists Alliance/Live Theatre, 1992) * ''Invisible'' (Double Edge Theatre Company; 1993 & 1998) * ''Brother to Brother'' (

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a nonprofit theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London."About the Lyric" > "History" ''Lyric'' official website. Retrieved January 2024. Background The Lyric Theatre ...

and tour, 1996 & 1998); in Cheryl Robson (ed.), ''Black and Asian Plays Anthology'', Aurora Metro, 2000 * ''I Hope It's Not a Black Man'' (1996) * ''After Windrush'' (

Oval House Theatre 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 ...

, 1998) * ''Blood for Britain'' (BBC Radio 4 Drama, 2001) * ''Can you Play Football?'' (2004) * ''Babel Junction'' ( Empire Theatre, 2006) * ''Master Juba'' (Luton Library Theatre, Albany Theatre, 2006) * New translation of ''

'' by

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

(2010 & 2012)

References

External links

"Michael McMillan , St. Vincent – UK"
Uprising Art.
"Exclusive Interview: Michael McMillan – in the framework of the exhibition Who More Sci-Fi than Us"
Uprising Art, 2 July 2012.
"Michael McMillan"
Black Plays Archive, National Theatre.

at Doollee.com.
"Artist Shiraz Bayjoo In Conversation with Michael McMillan, 5 Feb 2015"
InivaArts. YouTube. * Sigita Bendikaitė
"Story , Michael McMillan on curating A front Room in 1970"

, 8 March 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:McMillan, Michael 1962 births 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British male writers 21st-century British male writers Academics of the University of the Arts London Alumni of Central Saint Martins Alumni of the University of Sussex Black British academics Black British artists Black British writers British curators English curators English people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines descent Living people People from High Wycombe