Inua Ellams’ Barber Shop Chronicles, his first full-length play, was a smash-hit when it opened in London in 2017. It was co-commissioned by the National Theatre and Fuel, an organization which works with new artists to present unusual plays that will both appeal to today’s audiences and introduce live theatre to those who have not experienced it.

Ellams who was born in Nigeria and moved to Great Britain as a young boy returned to Africa to research Barber Shop Chronicles. He visited barber shops in Lagos, Nigeria; Kampala, Uganda; Accra, Ghana; Johannesburg, South Africa; and Harare, Zimbabwe recording conversations to help develop his play which deals with black masculinity in today’s world. A barber shop in London, where Ellams resides, appears after each African scene. …

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