BRITISH GHANAIAN theatre-maker Tristan Fynn Aiduenu prides himself on creating and delivering work which stretches the imagination of his audiences.
Ahead of the four-week run of Bootycandy at the Gate Theatre in Camden, he said he wanted to present “a side of a powerful, unapologetic black queer imagination that we seldom see”.
Kicking off last month, Fynn-Aiduenu directs the UK premiere of Robert O’Hara’s provocative and funny, Bootycandy, a whip-smart, high-octane, roller coaster ride about growing up black and gay.
With his unique brand of storytelling Fynn-Aiduenu presents Sutter, who is on a journey.
“I think Bootycandy and its form is one that will really speak to other queer black people in the UK and the frenetic, crazy nature of our existence,” Fynn-Aiduenu says.
“Each vignette in the piece is a side of a powerful, unapologetic black queer imagination that we seldom see on the British stage.
“This play speaks to me as a queer black man still exploring my place in the world and all stuff that has made me who I am today.”
The winner of the 2019 JMK Director Award, Fynn-Aiduenu has directed at venues such as the Young Vic, Royal Court and National Theatre. He is an associate director of Initiative.dkf, and associate artist at Brixton House and Gate Theatre.
His previous works include multi award-nominated productions Sweet Like Chocolate Boy, Little Baby Jesus, Sundown Kiki and For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy, for which he won the Black British Theatre Award for Best Director and Best Production.
It’s been a busy decade for Fynn-Aiduenu who graduated with a first class degree in Drama with English Literature from Roehampton University and a scholarship MA in Writing for Stage & Broadcast Media.
He was one of the chosen writers on the Royal Court’s Open Court in 2015 and the Bush Theatre’s emerging writers programme in 2017, was longlisted for BBC Writersroom in 2017 and was a director on the Young Vic’s Springboard course in 2018.
The full cast for Bootycandy includes Prince Kundai as Sutter playing alongside Bimpé Pacheco, DK Fashola, Luke Wilson and Roly Botha.
Speaking on the production Fynn-Aiduenu enthused: “I want to create a show that feels immersive, hyper-colourful, mindbending, messy and imagination expanding – because that is what a lot of the beautiful black queer minds I have met are like to me.”
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