Kwaku Sintim-Misa

No African had put an original play on Off-Broadway until Kwaku Sintim-Misa did it with Thoughts of a Confused Black Man, his solo piece on being black in America. When he came home in 1997 he brought that combative style to Ghanaian radio and TV.

Background

He was born in Kumasi on 5 December 1956, the fifth of six children. He attended UST Primary School, PRESEC and Prempeh College and trained at NAFTI, then went to the United States to train as an actor and director at Trinity College, Hartford, and earned an MFA in film at New York University. In the US he acted Off-Broadway and appeared in Law & Order.

Broadcasting and theatre

His radio show Talk Shop sparked debate across Ghana, followed by Nyame Som Ye De. His TV show Thank God It's Friday mixed serious talk and comedy and won TV entertainment show host of the year at the 2011 RTP Awards; he now hosts The KSM Show. On stage he writes and performs solo satires, among them Politically Incorrect and Saga of a Returnee, produced by his company Sapphire Ghana, and released the thriller Double in 2009.