Liberian Girl by Diana Nneka Atuona

Liberian Girl by Diana Nneka Atuona

Set during the early years of the First Liberian Civil War (1989 – 1996), this startling debut play by Diana Nneka Atuona tells the story of fourteen-year-old Martha who flees her country, disguised as a boy, when it’s invaded by rebels. Investigated and cruelly interrogated, she is separated from her grandmother as they attempt to escape the conflict under false identities and, convincing in her boy’s apparel, Martha is forced to join the rebels’ army. Exposed to the violence of this brutal and seemingly misguided conflict, both as victim and perpetrator, Martha’s experience of the First Liberian Civil War is one of excessive cruelty and, in particular, abuse against female prisoners of war.

Liberian Girl received its world premiere at the Royal Court Upstairs, London in December 2014.

[Atuona] pictures brutality in all its naked mindlessnessWith verve . . . she shows how war can erode familiar notions of childhood and humanity. * Evening Standard *
Atuona's play may be rooted in a particular conflict but in its depiction of how war makes men barbarians, and women and children their slaves, it is timeless. * Daily Telegraph *
Intelligent, impassioned and devastatingly affecting. * The Times *
Diana Nneka Atuona's remarkable debut play . . . With extraordinary boldness and range of empathy . . . it offers a joltingly unusual perspective on the recruitment and brutalisation of child soldiers * Independent *

Diana Nneka Atuona is a British-Nigerian writer from Peckham, South London. After graduating with a degree in International Politics from South Bank University, Diana was awarded a scholarship from Gray’s Inn to study a diploma in Law. Her first passion has always been to write for TV, stage, film and music though. In September 2011, she joined the Royal Court as their Theatre Local Officer, taking plays by writers like Debbie Tucker Green, Rachel Delahay and Bola Agbaje to spaces around London. In 2012, she joined the Royal Court’s Invitation writing group and the resulting full-length play, Liberian Girl, was placed in the top 25 plays for the Verity Bargate Award and was longlisted for the 2013 Bruntwood Prize. It also won her the Alfred Fagon Award for playwriting.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781474218245
ISBN 10	1474218245
Title	Liberian Girl
Author	Diana Nneka Atuona
Series	Modern Plays
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Year published	2015-01-06
Number of pages	104
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.