Writers from Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe were among the top 14 playwrights in the highly-competitive 2011 BBC International Playwriting Competition.

In the category of English as the first language, Benjamin Kent, from Ghana, was selected for his play The Bus, which looks at the choices and options we have in life.  A family experiences a life changing violent robbery while riding a bus.  The play showcases the “split decision’ and consequences thereafter.

In English as a second language category, Samwel Soko Osebe, of Kenya, was picked for The New Bwana – a satire of hope and possibility in the developing world.  Two characters, Gaga and Mutia, have held the same job for 10 years.  It is now time for them to be “The New Bwana” – Swahili for “boss”.

From Uganda, Atwine Bashir Kenneth focused on a hard working girl supporting her mother and brother back home in “Dear Mother.”  Life takes its twists and turns forcing her to make different choices.

Finally, Stanley Makuwe, a Zimbabwean but listed under New Zealand, a country that has played host to many political and economic exiles from Zimbabwe in recent years, was tapped for his play, The Coup – a tale of a revolution against an autocratic government where the people rise up to stage a coup.

Winners of the 2011 BBC International Playwriting Competition were Lasha Bugadze, of Georgia, and Fernanda Jaber, of China.