Mustapha Matura

Mustapha Matura (17 December 1939 – 29 October 2019), born Noel Mathura, was an award-winning Trinidadian playwright living in London. Characterised by critic Michael Billington as “a pioneering black playwright who opened the doors for his successors”, Matura was the first British-based dramatist of colour to have a play in London’s West End, with Play Mas in 1974 which won him the Evening Standard’s ‘Most Promising Playwright’ Award. In 1978, he co-founded the Black Theatre Co-operative with Charlie Hanson. Matura was revered for his witty and often political plays set in his home country, including Playboy of the West Indies, Three Sisters (after Chekov) and Rum an’ Coca-Cola. He was a prolific creator of things: screenplays, short stories, poems, sketches, paintings and songs, all inspired by his eclectic life story and curiosity about people and life. Famous works of his include Welcome Home Jacko, The Coup, Nice, Meetings among other notable works. He is survived by his wife, Ingrid Selberg. In 2021, the Mustapha Matura Award and Mentoring Programme was set up in his memory to co-exist alongside the Alfred Fagon Award. The award is aimed at Black playwrights of Caribbean and African descent aged 25 and under and includes a cash prize of £3,000 and a nine month mentoring programme with a leading Black British playwright.