Born to a Muslim father and a Christian mother in what is now considered by many to be Boko Haram territory, award-winning poet and playwright Inua Ellams left Nigeria for England in 1996 aged 12, moved to Ireland for three years, before returning to London and starting work as a writer and graphic designer.
Part of this story was documented in his autobiographical Fringe First Award-winning play The 14th Tale, but much of it is untold. Littered with poems, stories, and anecdotes, Inua tells his ridiculous, fantastic, poignant immigrant-story of escaping fundamentalist Islam, experiencing prejudice and friendship in Dublin, performing solo at the National Theatre, and drinking wine with the Queen of England, all the while without a country to belong to or place to call home.
Production Images by Oliver Holms
Promoting Civil Liberties, Promoting Human Rights
Liberty are currently campaigning to save the Human Rights Act (HRA). Article 8 of the HRA enabled Inua to be granted leave to remain in the UK. At the time of creating this work, the Government was threatening to scrap the Human Rights Act, and Theresa May had recently become the first Prime Minister to advocate UK withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights – the international beacon of human rights protection which was drafted by British lawyers as a response to the horrors of the Second World War.
Liberty campaigns for civil liberties and human rights in the UK. They’re entirely independent – so can truly hold the powerful to account. From protecting privacy and freedom of speech, to righting discrimination and injustice – Liberty members have helped win legal cases, make the news, and change the law for over 80 years. If you believe in a society defined by freedom, fairness, and equal rights, make your voice heard and support the campaign today by becoming a Liberty member.