Remembering Mustapha Matura

'When poets die,
Unseen comets blaze forth
Signalling the birth of ‘other;
For every word let fly,
A muse do cry.'

- Poets, Mustapha Matura

Join us for an evening of shared readings in celebration of the life of Mustapha Matura.

The celebration, directed and curated by Nicolas Kent, Anton Phillips and Paulette Randall, will include readings, tributes and songs from Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Victor Romero Evans, Charlie Hanson, Clement Ishmael, Danny John-Jules, Stefan Kalipha, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Martina Laird, Dominique Legendre, Joan Ann Maynard, Cyril Nri, Ben Okri, Anton Phillips, Caryl Phillips, Clarke Peters, Paulette Randall, Lydia Wilson and Benjamin Zephaniah, with more contributors to be announced.

Mustapha Matura, 17 December 1939 – 29 October 2019, was an award-winning and pioneering playwright, known for works including As Time Goes By, Playboy of the West Indies, Play Mas, Rum and Coca Cola, The Coup, Trinidad Sisters and Welcome Home Jacko. His work has been staged at UK theatres including the National Theatre, Orange Tree Theatre, Royal Court, Tricycle Theatre, Hampstead Theatre and The Bush as well as internationally including the Lincoln Center in New York, The Goodman in Chicago and Arena Stage in Washington DC. He was the first British-based dramatist of colour to have a play transfer to the West End (Play Mas, 1974).