Azuka Oforka

Azuka Elizabeth Oforka (born in 1981 in London) is an English actress, playwright, and screenwriter, now based in Penarth, South Wales.

As an actress, she is known for her role as nurse Louise Tyler in Casualty. Oforka's debut play was The Women of Llanrumney, which premiered at the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff in 2024 to critical acclaim.

Early life and education Oforka was born in 1981 in London and grew up in the neighbourhood of South Acton. Her mother is Dame Elizabeth Anionwu, a nurse and lecturer known for her work in sickle cell disease. Her maternal grandfather was Lawrence Anionwu, a Nigerian diplomat. Oforka was raised by her mother as a single parent. However, she frequently visited Nigeria to see her father (who died in 2014) as well as her mother's extended family during her childhood.

According to her mother's memoir, Oforka "had become determined to be an actress" around the age of nine. Oforka is known for portraying Louise Tyler in BBC One's medical drama Casualty from 2011 to 2019. Her most recent television role was as ICU nurse Anne Bowland on the ITV1/ITVX series Until I Kill You (2024).

Writing The Women of Llanrumney (2024)

Oforka was inspired to write the play after her visit to Llanrumney Hall in Cardiff, where she saw a portrait of Captain Henry Morgan displayed without any references to his "brutal legacy of slavery".

Set in 1765, on Llanrumney estate in St. Mary, Jamaica, the real-life plantation founded by Captain Henry Morgan the play centred around the lives of enslaved housekeepers, Annie and Cerys, as well as their plantation owning enslaver, Elisabeth Morgan, who had mismanaged the estate to the point of financial collapse. The play was premiered in May 2024 at Sherman Theatre, Cardiff,

Starring Suzanne Packer and Nia Roberts, the production received highly positive reviews, including five stars from The Guardian. In the same year, the play also won Oforka a Stage Debut Award for Best Writer, in a joint victory with Sam Grabiner for Boys on the Verge of Tears.

Cross the Line (2025) Oforka wrote Cross the Line as part of an educational initiative by Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith and Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council, developed to teach children in the borough about the signs of county lines drug trafficking and exploitation. The play was performed in touring productions across schools in Hammersmith and Fullham in 2025, and is set to run at Lyric Hammersmith in July 2026. Cross the Line was recognised at the 2025 UK Theatre Awards for Excellence in Arts Education.

Oforka's play... that last summer, in collaboration with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, was premiered at the Sherman Theatre June 2026,

Personal life Oforka moved to Cardiff in 2012 and has resided in Wales since.

Oforka is a cousin of her Casualty castmate Charles Venn.

Filmography Television

Stage

Writing credits Theatre

Awards and nominations