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SEARCH PARTY: Written and performed by Inua Ellams

Image of Inua Ellams

Inua Ellams. Photo by Adama Jalloh for The New York Times at Potterfields Park in London on September 17th 2020.
 

Pick a word, any word.

Prompted by audience suggestion, playwright-poet and performer Inua Ellams searches an electronic archive of every paragraph, sentence and word he's ever written and reads a spontaneous selection. Poems mingle with plays and essays, generating a performance that’s different every time.

An act of call and response that hearkens back to the birth of storytelling, SEARCH PARTY is uniquely futuristic and gloriously interactive. This “immensely erudite, multifaceted, and busy artist” (Vulture) invites you to join in the work. What will you say?
 

“It’s a luxury to hear Ellams… I highly recommend. Go hang with him.” — New York Times

“Like his theatrical work, SEARCH PARTY shows Ellams’s versatility and fearlessness as an artist who’s willing to take risks, especially in a show like this, which by its nature will never be the same twice.” — TheaterMania

“He impressed us with his talent as a performer, with his genuine love of theater, and his unique gift of bonding with an audience.” — Theater Pizzazz
 

Inua Ellams

Born in Nigeria, Inua Ellams is a poet, playwright, performer, graphic artist and designer. He is a Complete Works poet alumni, and facilitates accessible, enjoyable creative writing for participants of all ages and backgrounds.

His awards include: Edinburgh Fringe First Award 2009, The Liberty Human Rights Award, The Live Canon International Poetry Prize, The Kent & Sussex Poetry Competition, Magma Poetry Competition, Winchester Poetry Prize, A Black British Theatre Award, The Hay Festival Medal for Poetry, Dora awards for Outstanding Ensemble Performance & Production, and The Alfred Fagon Award 2024.

He has been commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, Tate Modern, Louis Vuitton, BBC Radio & Television. His poetry books include ‘Candy Coated Unicorn and Converse All Stars’ published Flipped Eye, 'The Wire-Headed Heathen' by Akashic Books, The Half God of Rainfall by 4th Estate and ‘The Actual’ by Penned in The Margins. His plays include ‘Black T-shirt Collection’ (Fuel, China Plate, Warwick Arts Centre) ‘The 14th Tale’ (Fuel, Battersea Arts Centre), ‘Barber Shop Chronicles’ (National Theatre, Oxford Playhouse, Bristol Old Vic, BAM, A.R.T, Kennedy Center, The Grand Theatre), ‘Three Sisters’ (National Theatre, Soul Pepper, Obsidian Theatre), ‘The Half God Of Rainfall’ (Fuel, Kiln, New York Theatre Workshop). He founded The Midnight Run (an arts-filled, night-time, urban walking experience), The Rhythm and Poetry Party (R.A.P - to celebrate literature & music) Poetry + Film / Hack (P+F/H - to celebrate Poetry & Film) Anonyms (to celebrate etymology), Redacted (to celebrate blackout poetry), and 05Fest (a festival to unite them all).