Lucian Msamati
Encyclopedia
Lucian Msamati, sometimes credited as Wiina Msamati, is a British
-born film
, television
and theatre
actor
.
and brought up in Zimbabwe
by his Tanzanian parents, a doctor and a nurse, he is the eldest of four siblings. His primary education began at Olympio Primary School in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
, and continued at Avondale Primary School in Harare, Zimbabwe. After secondary education at Prince Edward School in Harare, he studied towards a BA Honours Degree in French and Portuguese at the University of Zimbabwe from 1995-1997.
In 1994 Msamati and school friends, Shaheen Jassat (deceased), Craig and Gavin Peter, Kevin Hanssen, Roy Chizivano, Sarah Norman founded what would become Zimbabwe's acclaimed Over The Edge Theatre Company in Harare, later joined by Erica Glyn-Jones, Zane E Lucas, Chipo Chung
, Karin Alexander and Michael Pearce. Renowned for their biting, witty satirical material and their accomplished productions of classical and contemporary work, Over The Edge was the first multi-racial professional theatre company in Zimbabwe. The company celebrated its 10th anniversary in December 2004 having flown the Zimbabwe flag across Europe, the US and South Africa. The last few years have seen individual members pursuing other interests.Though not officially disbanded, there are no immediate plans of an Over The Edge reunion. From 1998 to 2001, the company performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh
, Scotland
; some plays were written by Msamati.
He has appeared in several theatrical productions in London
, United Kingdom
, including:
In November 2010 Lucian was appointed Artistic Director of acclaimed British-African theatre company, Tiata Fahodzi
http://www.tiatafahodzi.com.He continues to pursue his acting and writing career alongside developing and creating Tiata Fahodzi projects.
Ultimate Force
and Spooks
. In 2008 he took on his most prominent role, playing JLB Matekoni in the BBC
/HBO-produced series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
. He has guest starred in episodes of the BBC television series Ashes to Ashes
and Doctor Who
.
. He lives with his wife and two children.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
-born film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Early life and education
Lucian Gabriel Wiina Msamati was born in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and brought up in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
by his Tanzanian parents, a doctor and a nurse, he is the eldest of four siblings. His primary education began at Olympio Primary School in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, and continued at Avondale Primary School in Harare, Zimbabwe. After secondary education at Prince Edward School in Harare, he studied towards a BA Honours Degree in French and Portuguese at the University of Zimbabwe from 1995-1997.
Theatre
After University he took a 'day-job' as an advertising copywriter and freelance radio presenter. He enjoyed success in both in addition to being an in-demand voice-over artist, compere and after-dinner speaker.In 1994 Msamati and school friends, Shaheen Jassat (deceased), Craig and Gavin Peter, Kevin Hanssen, Roy Chizivano, Sarah Norman founded what would become Zimbabwe's acclaimed Over The Edge Theatre Company in Harare, later joined by Erica Glyn-Jones, Zane E Lucas, Chipo Chung
Chipo Chung
Chipo Chung is a Tanzanian-born actress raised in Zimbabwe. She currently lives in London.-Background:Chipo Chung was born as a refugee in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She is half-Zimbabwean and half-Chinese. She spent her first two years in refugee camps in Mozambique with thousands of young people...
, Karin Alexander and Michael Pearce. Renowned for their biting, witty satirical material and their accomplished productions of classical and contemporary work, Over The Edge was the first multi-racial professional theatre company in Zimbabwe. The company celebrated its 10th anniversary in December 2004 having flown the Zimbabwe flag across Europe, the US and South Africa. The last few years have seen individual members pursuing other interests.Though not officially disbanded, there are no immediate plans of an Over The Edge reunion. From 1998 to 2001, the company performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
; some plays were written by Msamati.
He has appeared in several theatrical productions in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, including:
- Fabulation, Tricycle TheatreTricycle TheatreThe Tricycle Theatre is located on Kilburn High Road in Kilburn in the London Borough of Brent, England. During the last 30 years, the Tricycle has been presenting plays reflecting the cultural diversity of its community; in particular Black, Irish, Jewish, Asian and South African works, as well as...
- Gem of the OceanGem of the OceanGem of the Ocean is a play by American playwright August Wilson. It is the first installment of his decade-by-decade, ten-play chronicle, The Pittsburgh Cycle, dramatizing the African-American experience in the twentieth century.-Plot :...
, Tricycle Theatre - I.D.I.D. (play)I.D. is a historical drama by Antony Sher. It debuted on 4 September 2003 at London's Almeida Theatre, directed by Nancy Meckler.The play is adapted from the book A Mouthful of Glass by Henk van Woerden, and follows the events surrounding the trial and imprisonment of the mentally unstable...
, Almeida TheatreAlmeida TheatreThe Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325 seat studio theatre with an international reputation which takes its name from the street in which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diverse range of drama and holds an annual summer festival of... - Mourning Becomes ElectraMourning Becomes ElectraMourning Becomes Electra is a play cycle written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 26 October 1931 where it ran for 150 performances before closing in March 1932...
, Royal National TheatreRoyal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company... - The Overwhelming, Royal National Theatre
- Pericles, Prince of TyrePericles, Prince of TyrePericles, Prince of Tyre is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio...
, played the title role, Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare CompanyThe Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across... - President Of An Empty Room, Royal National Theatre
- The Resistible Rise of Arturo UiThe Resistible Rise of Arturo UiThe Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui is a play by the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht, originally written in 1941...
, Lyric HammersmithLyric HammersmithThe Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on King Street, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original, "groundbreaking" productions.... - Walk Hard, Tricycle Theatre
- Death and the King's HorsemanDeath and the King's HorsemanDeath and The King's Horseman is a play by Wole Soyinka based on a real incident that took place in Nigeria during British colonial rule: the ritual suicide of the horseman of an important chief was prevented by the intervention of the colonial authorities...
, National - Ruined Almeida Theatre
- Clybourne ParkClybourne ParkClybourne Park is a 2010 play by Bruce Norris written in response to Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun portraying fictional events set before and after the play and loosely based on real life events. The premiere took place in February 2010 at Playwrights Horizons in New York. The play...
Royal Court
In November 2010 Lucian was appointed Artistic Director of acclaimed British-African theatre company, Tiata Fahodzi
Tiata Fahodzi
Tiata Fahodzi is a British-African theatre company, founded in 1997 by actor-director Femi Elufowoju, Jr. After 13 years of distinguished service, Elefowoju, Jr left the company in April 2010...
http://www.tiatafahodzi.com.He continues to pursue his acting and writing career alongside developing and creating Tiata Fahodzi projects.
Television
He has also appeared in several television productions, including episodes of the television seriesTelevision program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Ultimate Force
Ultimate Force
Ultimate Force is a British television drama series that was shown on ITV, which deals with the activities of the fictional Red Troop of the SAS...
and Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
. In 2008 he took on his most prominent role, playing JLB Matekoni in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
/HBO-produced series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (TV series)
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a television comedy-drama series, produced by the BBC in conjunction with HBO, and based on the novels of the same name by Alexander McCall Smith. The novels focus on the story of a detective agency opened by Mma Ramotswe and her courtship with the mechanic Mr....
. He has guest starred in episodes of the BBC television series Ashes to Ashes
Ashes to Ashes (TV series)
Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
and Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
.
Personal life
He permanently relocated to the U.K. in 2003, and now resides in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He lives with his wife and two children.