Diana Nneka Atuona

Diana Nneka Atuona (born 1983) She has spoken about her interest in writing in her childhood, notably writing a play for her church aged only 11 or 12. Atuona has credited a production of Blood Brothers that she saw as a teenager with sparking her interest in the theatre. However, her "traditional African" parents did not encourage her interest in the arts, preferring that she pursued a more traditional career. to study law at BPP University. However, she did not complete her legal training, deciding to instead follow her passion for writing. She also interned at Royal Court and joined the theatre's writing group following her stint as an usher. earning Atuona nominations in the Evening Standard Award as Most Promising Playwright and the Writers' Guild Award for Best New Play. The stage production was also a joint winner of the Alfred Fagon Audience Award in 2015.

Atuona's second play, The Boy from Tiger Bay, won the George Devine Award in 2019. She went on to receive funding from the Roland Rees Bursary It follows a black American G.I. who finds himself in the multicultural surroundings of Butetown, Cardiff.

In 2025, Atuona was announced as one of four working-class playwrights commissioned by Ardent Theatre Company to write a 70-minute play under the umbrella title Our Country Now. The programme is set to premier in Autumn 2026 at Southwark Playhouse Borough, where it will have a five-week run, followed by a three-week regional tour.

Works

Productions Year Title Venue(s) Note

Liberian Girl Royal Court Theatre (premiere); Bernie Grant Arts Centre; and CLF Arts Café, Peckham 2022 Changing Rooms Pump House Theatre and Arts Centre; Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith; and Bristol Old Vic. Short play; part of the Talking About A Revolution programme (curated by Tiata Fahodzi) 2023 Trouble in Butetown Donmar Warehouse

2021 - Theatre Royal Haymarket’s Writer Award 2021 - Roland Rees Bursary