Play Inspired By Footballer Frank Lampard Wins BBC African Performance Competition

A radio play reflecting Africa’s love affair with the English Premiership has won this year’s BBC African Performance competition. Dear Mr Lampard tells the story of a young Zimbabwean boy who strikes up a relationship with the Chelsea star Frank Lampard. Dear Mr Lampard and the runner-up plays can be heard on BBC World Service radio from Thursday 10 July or online at bbcworldservice.com.

The winning play, Dear Mr Lampard, tells the moving story of a 15-year-old Zimbabwean called Fortune. His obsession with English Premiership team Chelsea prompts him to write repeatedly to his favorite player, Frank Lampard.

To his surprise Frank Lampard writes back, enclosing a ticket to an England v South Africa game in Johannesburg. Fortune then embarks on an incident-filled adventure to get to the match, overcoming huge obstacles to finally meet his hero.

The South African writer of Dear Mr Lampard, Risenga Makondo, comes from Venda near the Zimbabwean border and is himself a Chelsea fan.

He told the BBC that he was inspired by how football brings people together. “A teacher, a doctor, a churchman and a thief can all sit and watch football and will all jump up at the same time. Football is a place where everyone is equal.”

In second place was A Home For Tai by Zimbabwean Tawanda Mutero Kanengoni. The play is about a young woman stigmatized by childlessness and her fight to keep her husband and family as she struggles to fall pregnant.

Joint third place went to Funeral Bells by Benjamin Kent from Ghana which takes a wry look at the central role funerals play in many African societies.

Benjamin shares his award with Olusanya Kolawole Oluwaseyi from Nigeria and his play A Dangerous Voyage. It tells the tale of four West Africans who risk their lives in a fishing boat, hoping to start a new life in the Canary Islands.

The BBC also awarded two special commendations to Power Failure by Nigerian Jide Afolayan and Belonging by Zimbabwean Mirirai Moyo.

Judge Shimmer Chinodya, an award-winning Zimbabwean author, said: “I was very impressed with the standard of entries and the range of genres covered this year.”

Source: BBC World Service Publicity Team

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