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Litter from America

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Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Alternative US correspondents present a tour of their scuffed and stained American dreams.

Peter Curran introduces alternative US correspondents in different cities, giving listeners a tour of their own scuffed and stained American dreams.

Litter from America: Series 1: Kwame Kwei Armah

19/04/2017

Kwame Kwei Armah

Series 1

BBC Radio 4 - Litter from America, Series 1, Kwame Kwei Armah

Kwame Kwei Armah tours his life and adopted city of Baltimore.

Kwame Kwei Armah takes a night walk in Baltimore, reflecting on his childhood in London and how it has shaped his life as a playwright and artistic director in his adopted US city.

Taking the songs of Bob Marley into riot-damaged parts of Baltimore and removing the bullet-proof glass barrier from the box-office of his Center Stage theatre are just two of the tasks undertaken by Artistic Director, Kwame Kwei Armah. He muses on the laughs and confusion caused by looking like an African-American but speaking with the cultivated tones and accent of a British actor. 

Kwame grew up in London and found fame in the medical drama Holby City before he won the Evening Standard's Most Promising New Playwright award for Elmina's Kitchen, which was a success at the National Theatre. Set in a West Indian restaurant, Elmina's Kitchen tells a tale of family conflict and crime in Hackney, East London. He's also the writer and director of the Bob Marley musical, One Love. 

In Litter From America, he reflects on how his character has changed over the years and the qualities he has, and has not, managed to pass onto his children. We also get a portrait of attitudes to President Trump, including those of Charlene Taylor, a hostess in one of the city's downtown diners. 


A Foghorn Company production for BBC Radio 4.

Litter from America: Series 1

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Peter Curran introduces alternative US correspondents in different cities, giving listeners a tour of their own scuffed and stained American dreams in 2017.

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