T-Bone Wilson

T-Bone Wilson is a Guyanese-British actor, dramatist and poet.^[1]

Life

Wilson came to England from Guyana in 1962 as an engineering student. Deciding to take up drama, he trained at the Mountview Theatre School.^[2] Wilson acted in Mustapha Matura's series of short plays, Black Pieces,^[1] staged by Roland Rees at the ICA in 1970.^[3] Wilson was inspired to become a playwright himself,^[4] writing Jumbie Street March, Body and Soul (1974) and Come Jubilee (1977).^[5] Jumbie Street March was produced by the Dark and Light Theatre Company.^[6]

As a theatre actor, Wilson performed in the National Theatre's 1981 production of Measure for Measure, the first main-stage Shakespeare by a national theatre company to employ a majority of ethnic minority actors.^[7] He played Banquo in a 1984 production of Macbeth at the Young Vic Theatre.^[8]

Wilson appeared in the 1979 television drama A Hole in Babylon, based on events leading up to the 1975 Spaghetti House siege.^[9] He also appeared in Franco Rosso's 1980 film Babylon, which portrayed sound system culture and racism in Brixton.^[10]

Writing

Poetry

• Wilson, T-Bone (1980). Counterblast. London: Karnak House. ISBN 0907015026.^[11]

Plays

• Wilson, T-Bone (1974). Body and Soul. London: Keskidee Arts Centre^[12]
• Wilson, T-Bone (1972). Come Jubilee. London: Bush Theatre^[13][14]

Filmography

Television

Stage

References

1. ^ Alison Donnell (ed.) (2002). "Wilson, T-Bone". Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture. Routledge. pp. 71–2. ISBN 978-1-134-70025-7.
2. ^ "T-Bone Wilson". British Black and Asian Shakespeare Database. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
3. ^ Billington, Michael (1 November 2019). "Mustapha Matura obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
4. ^ Megson, Chris (2012). Modern British Playwriting: The 1970s: Voices, Documents, New Interpretations. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-4081-2939-5.
5. ^ "T Bone Wilson | Biography". Black Plays Archive. National Theatre. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
6. ^ Davis, Geoffrey V. (2006). Staging New Britain: Aspects of Black and South Asian British Theatre Practice. Peter Lang. p. 50. ISBN 978-90-5201-042-7.
7. ^ "Measure for Measure (1981)". British Black and Asian Shakespeare Database. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
8. ^ "Macbeth (1984)". British Black and Asian Shakespeare Database. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
9. ^ Bourne, Stephen (2005). Black in the British Frame: The Black Experience in British Film and Television. A&C Black. p. 201. ISBN 978-0-8264-7898-6.
10. ^ Newland, Paul (2010). "We Know Where We're Going, We Know Where We're From: Babylon". Don't Look Now: British Cinema in the 1970s. Paul Newland (ed.). Intellect Books. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-84150-389-9.
11. ^ "Counterblast". Library search: Goldsmiths, University of London. London: Goldsmiths, University of London. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
12. ^ "Body and Soul". Black Plays Archive. London: National Theater. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
13. ^ "Come Jubilee". Black Plays Archive. London: National Theater. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
14. ^ "Poster by Oscar Zarete". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
15. ^ British Film Institute. "Pressure". Collections Search BFI. London: British Film Institute. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
16. ^ British Film Institute. "Black Joy". Collections Search BFI. London: British Film Institute. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
17. ^ British Film Institute. "Babylon". Collections Search BFI. London: British Film Institute. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
18. ^ "A Hole in Babylon". Mubi. London: Mubi. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
19. ^ Wambu, Onyekachi. "Hole in Babylon, A (1979)". BFI Screenonline. London: BFI. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
20. ^ "Jumbie Street March". Black Plays Archive. London: National Threatre. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
21. ^ "JLR/2/5/3 Keskidee Centre, 1971-1979". Catalogue George Padmore Institute. London: George Padmore Institute. Retrieved 13 September 2025.

External links

• T-Bone Wilson at IMDb