Monday 4 October 2010

The Garbage King at the Unicorn Theatre


The Garbage King has now opened as a play at the Unicorn Theatre in London. It runs until the end of October. It's a great production with terrific actors. The book was adapted for the stage by Oladipo Agbouluaje, a very talented Nigerian playwright. I saw it for the first time last week. It was the most extraordinary and wonderful experience to see my characters come to life before my eyes!
Even more wonderful, a very special person was sitting beside me. His name is Belete, and when I met him in Addis Ababa, years ago, he was a street boy living rough with his gang of friends. He told me his life story, and introduced me to his gang, and their dog, Suri. I based much of the story of Mamo in The Garbage King on Belete's life.
Belete flew all the way from Addis Ababa (the first time he had been on a plane), to see the play. I think London came as a bit of shock! The picture above shows us together, near the theatre.
Sadly, Belete can only stay a few more days and will soon return to Ethiopia. He is doing very well, has a nice place to live, a job, and is going to night school, learning to read and write and speak English. He doesn't know how old he is (he guesses he is in his mid-twenties now).
Belete has started a drama group to help other street kids to work together and express themselves. If I hear news of it, I'll let you know!
Do come and see the play, if you get the chance.