Dzifa Benson
Available

Dzifa Benson

Playwright, Dramaturg, JournalistLondon, United Kingdom
+ Info

88

Connections
Pip Jamieson
kuchar swara
Denise Chippindale
Dzifa Benson
Available

Dzifa Benson

Playwright, Dramaturg, JournalistLondon, United Kingdom
About me
Currently abridging Othello for the National Youth Theatre, I am a poet, playwright, dramaturg, critic, essayist and workshop facilitator. The confluence between art, science, family, the body and ritual animate my practice which I explore through poetry, theatre-making, libretti, storytelling, performance and journalism. I have written, presented and performed my work in many national and international contexts and completed an MA in Text & Performance at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Birkbeck University in January 2020. I am a widely published poet whose most recent publication is in Staying Human, the latest in Bloodaxe’s celebrated series of anthologies. I have read and performed my poetry in such venues as Glastonbury Festival, Latitude Festival, London Literature Festival and The National Gallery. As a critic, my theatre reviews have appeared in Broadway World and my reviews of music, and fiction and non-fiction books have been published in the Telegraph, the Guardian, the Financial Times and the Times Literary Supplement. I have a diverse range of teaching and mentoring experience, working especially with young people as well as refugees, women, BAME, ESOL learners with a strong focus on applied theatre and creative writing. Clients have included Southbank Centre, The Royal Geographical Society, The British Library and Chelsea College of Art & Design. I want to write and direct plays that intentionally engage with the diversity of experiences in contemporary Britain.
Projects
  • Claudia Rankine
    Claudia RankineReview of Claudia Rankine's Just Us in The Telegraph
  • Zadie Smith
    Zadie SmithReview of Zadie Smith's book of lockdown essays, Intimations in The Telegraph
Work history
    The Telegraph logo
    The Telegraph logo
    JournalistThe Telegraph
    London, United KingdomFreelance
Education
    R
    R
    MA in Text & PerformanceRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art & Birkbeck College, University of London
     - London, United Kingdom
    Specialising in playwriting, directing and dramaturgy underpinned by theoretical, historical, social and philosophical contexts, the course encompassed drama from ancients through to the early modern period and the contemporary.