About - Radikal Queen

Radikal Queen wrote her first poem at the age of 3, narrated her first stage play at the age of 9 and has been steadily writing, composing and creating ever since. Becoming one of the youngest finalists in the Cosmopolitan New Journalist contest in London gave her the credibility to dive directly into an incredibly competitive field, whilst focusing on grassroots community projects.

Radikal Queen graduated from the world renowned Tricycle Theatre Arts program and eventually founded a theatre troupe called Spirit Sisters at the Yaa Asantewaa in London, at the time the only independent Black arts centre in the UK.

In 2000 her grassroots and teaching work led to her being selected to lead the summer writing team of the prestigious Heart of the Beast Puppet Theater in Minneapolis, where she participated in several major productions with the touring theatre and within local schools.

Radikal Queen continued her community work with Alan Lyddiard, to facilitate drama and theatre workshops at Crisis, Newcastle’s homeless centre.

In 2010 Radikal Queen won an Apples & Snakes award , which enabled her to further develop her material. She went on to produce and perform in independent films with Apples & Snakes, S.H.A.M. films, and The Muslim Young Writers Awards.

In 2014 and again in 2019 she was a featured artist on BBC Newcastle’s emerging artist list, and later envisioned and co-founded Collective Identity, a grassroots music collective based in the North East. The Collective went on to share a stage with reggae luminaries such as The Resonators and Misty in Roots. In collaboration with Northern Roots and the Martin & Martina foundation, Radikal Queen has also set up a mentoring project for young Black girls.

In 2016 Commonword’s Black & Asian writer’s conference invited Radikal Queen to speak on mainstream access for marginalised creatives, then in 2019 came the career defining highlight of supporting Benjamin Zephaniah at the Sage Centre in Newcastle. She has since supported Blues legend SugarRay Rayford, and underground hiphop legend Homeboy Sandman.

About Radikal Queen