I last saw my father in person on March 5th, just before the coronavirus changed the world.

On Wednesday 10 June 2020, the scholar James Nwoye Adichie died in Nigeria. Three months later, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the acclaimed author of Half a Yellow Sun and Americanah, published a beautiful tribute to the father she loved ‘so much, so fiercely, so tenderly’, a poignant meditation on the meaning, impact and nature of grief, in the New Yorker. Out of that essay grew a book, which was published in May 2021.

Director Rae McKen takes Adichie’s words and transfers them to the stage in this new production, starring Michelle Asante, Uche Abuah, and Itoya Osagiede, Notes on Grief a space for those who have experienced loss to gather and reflect, and a powerful and timely MIF21 world premiere.

Image credit: Manny Jefferson

Commissioned and produced by Manchester International Festival.