Zimbabwean-British playwright, Zodwa Nyoni to release new play July 1

by Rachel Ogbu//

Zimbabwean-British playwright Zodwa Nyoni has been hailed by the BBC for making her voice heard with her new play Ode To Leeds showing at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds until 1 July.

Ode To Leeds follows the story of five young poets from Leeds selected to compete at the world’s most prestigious international poetry slam competition in New York City. Fuelled by love, pride and passionate protest their words light fires to show the world who they are and what they can be. But the determination to be crowned International Slam Champions threatens to overwhelm everything. As the competition draws closer, the poets are forced to discover not just their voices, but what they must find the courage to say.

Directed by Artistic Director, James Brining, Ode to Leeds features a blend of music, words, heart and soul to provide a poignant and uplifting portrait of our city.

For Zodwa Nyoni, her new play and its characters are inspired by her true story and her friends from her poetry group, Leeds Young Authors. “I feel seen. And we have to continue to feel seen, as people of colour, as artists of colour. What’s wonderful is that in the play you have a diverse mix of characters,” Nyoni tells the BBC. “For me what was important is understanding that poetry doesn’t necessarily stem from a particular white middle-class man.”

“What is happening now in the popularity and the rise in spoken word is you’re finding all these writers who are coming up, but Leeds has been doing it for years. These writers have always been coming up – but nobody’s been looking at them. It’s like Maya Angelou says, you will always remember how somebody makes you feel. That’s what poetry does. It reminds you that this is how you feel. And I think that’s why it’s been so effective post-Manchester, post-London [Bridge terror attack]. The nation goes, ‘This is how we feel. You’re not going to intimidate us.'”

Zodwa Nyoni is the winner of the Channel 4 Playwright’s Scheme and was Writer-in-Residence at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.Zodwa Nyoni

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