Biyi Bandele fortune, age, passing, spouse, career biography.
Nigerian novelist, dramatist, and director Biyi Bandele is also a filmmaker. Nigerian writer Bandele contributes to radio, television, theatre, newspapers, and various media outlets in the UK. In 1990, he moved to London.
Biyi Bandele: Profile overview
| First Name | Biyi |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Biyi Bandele |
| Date of Birth | 13 October 1967 |
| Birth Day | 13 October |
| Birth Years | 1967 |
| Birth Place | Kafanchan, Kaduna State, Nigeria |
| Birth City | Kaduna State |
| Birth Country | Nigeria |
| Nationality | French |
| Death | 8th August 2022 |
| Sun sign, Horoscope, Zodiac Sign | Scorpio |
| Famous As | Author |
| Also Known for | Author |
| Occupation | Author |
Biyi Bandele: Early life & Biography
Biyi Bandele (born Biyi Bandele-Thomas; 13 October 1967) is a Nigerian novelist, dramatist and filmmaker. Bandele is recognized as one of the most adaptable and prolific Nigerian writers based in the UK, having ventured into theatre, journalism, television, film, and radio, alongside the fiction that established his reputation. He resides in London, having relocated there in 1990.
Biyi Bandele: His Transition from Nigeria to London
Bandele came into the world to Yoruba parents in Kafanchan, Kaduna State, Nigeria in 1967. His father, Solomon Bamidele Thomas, was a veteran in the Burma Campaign during World War II when Nigeria was still under British rule. Bandele spent his initial 18 years in the northern region of the country, being most at home in the Hausa cultural tradition. Recognized as a gifted child, Bandele held early aspirations of becoming a writer and triumphed in a short-story competition at the age of 14. Subsequently, he moved to Lagos, where in 1987, he pursued drama studies at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He won the International Student Playscript competition of 1989 with an unpublished work, Rain, and received the 1990 British Council Lagos Award for another unpublished poetry collection. When he arrived in London that year at 22, invited to a theatre festival, he brought along the manuscripts of two written novels. Shortly after reaching the UK, he found a publisher and was commissioned by the Royal Court Theatre.
Biyi Bandele: His Passing
The prolific Nigerian novelist and filmmaker Biyi Bandele passed away at the age of 54 on the 8th of August 2022.
His demise was disclosed in a statement by his family on Monday, indicating that he passed away on Sunday in Lagos.
Biyi Bandele: As a Dramatist
As a dramatist, Bandele has performed on stage with the Royal Court Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and other venues, in addition to crafting radio dramas and screenplays for television. His notable works include; Rain; Marching for Fausa (1993); Resurrections in the Season of the Longest Drought (1994); Two Horsemen (1994), which was honored as Best New Play at the 1994 London New Plays Festival; Death Catches the Hunter and Me and the Boys (published in a single volume, 1995); and Oroonoko, an adaptation of Aphra Behn’s 17th-century novel of the same name. In 1997, he successfully dramatized Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Brixton Stories, a stage adaptation of his own novel The Street (1999), debuted in 2001 and was published alongside his play Happy Birthday Mister Deka, which premiered in 1999. He also adapted Lorca’s Yerma in 2001.
He served as a writer-in-residence with Talawa Theatre Company from 1994 to 1995, held the position of resident dramatist at the Royal National Theatre Studio (1996), and was the Judith E. Wilson Fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge University, from 2000–01. Additionally, he acted as Royal Literary Fund Resident Playwright at the Bush Theatre from 2002 to 2003.
Biyi Bandele: As a Film Director
His first directed film, Half of a Yellow Sun, was chosen to be shown in the Special Presentation category at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, receiving a “rapturous reception.” The film attracted significant critical focus. His subsequent film, Fifty, was featured in the 2015 London Film Festival. He also directed the third season of the acclaimed MTV drama series, Shuga.
Biyi Bandele: Honors
- 1989 – International Student Playscript Competition – Rain
- 1994 – London New Play Festival – Two Horsemen
- 1995 – Wingate Scholarship Award
- 1998 – Peggy Ramsay Award
- 2000 – EMMA (BT Ethnic and Multicultural Media Award) for Best Play – Oroonoko
Biyi Bandele: Fortune
Biyi’s estimated fortune ranged from $5 to $10 million.
