Tunde Ikoli was born in London's East End to a Cornish mother and Nigerian father. After leaving school at 15 he spent two years as a trainee tailor's cutter, before writing and co-directing Tunde's Film shown at the London, Edinburgh, Mannheim and San Francisco film festivals. The film led to a job at the Royal Court Theatre as Assistant Director where his productions included Mustapha Matura's Play Mas. His first play Short Sleeves in Summer was produced at the Royal Court Theatre in 1974. Since 1977 Ikoli's plays have been produced at a number of theatres including, Bush Theatre, Riverside Studios, Theatre Royal Stratford East, and the Tricycle Theatre.