Estate of Michael Abbensetts

A playwright and screenwriter, Michael Abbensetts was born in Guyana in 1938 and settled in Britain in 1963. He became the first Black British playwright to be commissioned to write a television drama series, the ground-breaking EMPIRE ROAD, which ran for two series on the BBC from 1978-79. Set in the Handsworth area of Birmingham, the series represented the lived experiences of Black, Indian and South-East Asian communities. Michael made his debut in 1973 at the Royal Court with his play SWEET TALK, directed by Stephen Frears. His other plays include ALTERATIONS, IN THE MOOD, EL DORADO and THE GOOD DOCTOR'S SON. Other screen credits include the television plays THE MUSEUM ATTENDANT and BLACK CHRISTMAS as well as the Channel 4 drama series LITTLE NAPOLEONS. Michael died in 2016.

ALTERATIONS is being revived at the National Theatre from 20th February to 5th April 2025, directed by Lynette Linton and with additional material by Trish Cooke.