Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE (born 24 March 1967 in Hillingdon, London), born Ian Roberts, is a British actor, playwright, singer and broadcaster. In 2005 he became the second black Briton to have a play staged in the West End. (Ray Harrison Graham's Fringe First award-winning play GARY played at the Arts Theatre in 1990.) Kwame's award-winning piece Elmina's Kitchen transferred to the Garrick Theatre in 2005. He voiced Mtambo in The Lorax.
He was brought up in Southall. He changed his name aged 19 after tracing his family history, through the slave trade back to his ancestral African roots in Ghana. His parents were born in Grenada. He has 4 children.
On 1 July 2011, he became Artistic Director of Center Stage in Baltimore, MD, succeeding Irene Lewis.
He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to drama.
Read more about Kwame Kwei-Armah: Early Life, Appearances On Stage, Television and Radio, Work As A Playwright