T-Bone Wilson

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T-Bone Wilson
Born
Guyana
NationalityBritish
Alma materMountview Theatre School
Occupation(s)Actor, dramatist, poet

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

Life

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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

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Poetry

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

Plays

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Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1975 Pressure Junior Released 1978 [15]
1977 Black Joy Shark [16]
1980 Babylon Wesley [17]
1982 Prime Suspect 2

Television

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1976 The Melting Pot
1979 Play for Today Frank Davies Series 10, Episode 7 "A Hole in Babylon" [18][19]

Stage

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Year Title Role Venue Notes Ref.
1970s Jumbie Street March Keskidee Arts Centre Also playwright [20][21]
1981 Measure for Measure First Gentleman National Threatre, Lyttelton Theatre [7]
1984 Macbeth Banquo Young Vic Theatre [8]

References

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  1. ^ a b Procter, James (2002). "Wilson, T-Bone". In Alison Donnell (ed.). 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. ^ a b "Measure for Measure (1981)". British Black and Asian Shakespeare Database. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  8. ^ a b "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". In Paul Newland (ed.). Don't Look Now: British Cinema in the 1970s. 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.
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