
Author denied UK visa unable to attend premiere of play based on his memoir
The author of an award-winning memoir about his life as a refugee has been refused a UK visa to attend a premiere of its adaptation for the London stage by one of Britain's most celebrated playwrights.
Ibrahima Balde, who lives in Spain, was told the UK government was not satisfied he would return home after the performance of Little Brother which begins its run at Jermyn Street Theatre next week.
Balde's memoir, Little Brother: an Odyssey to Europe, chronicles his search along the migrant routes of the Sahara for his younger sibling, Alhassane, who ran away from school in Guinea, west Africa, to make money for the family.
The book's critical acclaim led to Balde meeting the late Pope Francis and its adaptation for the stage by Timberlake Wertenbaker, an Olivier award winner described in The Washington Post as 'the doyenne of political theatre of the 1980s and 1990s'.
Balde's visa application to attend the premiere on 20 May during a four-day visit to London had been supported by the Jermyn Street theatre. He was due to stay with Wertenbaker during his time in London.
In its refusal letter, dated 13 May, to Balde, the Home Office said it was 'not satisfied that you have demonstrated your circumstances are as declared or are as such that you intend to leave the UK at the end of your visit.'
It added: 'Any future UK visa applications you make will be considered on their individual merits, however you are likely to be refused unless the circumstances of your application change. In relation to this decision, there is no right of appeal or right to administrative review.'
In a statement, Jermyn Street theatre called for the Home Office to reconsider the decision and suggested it was a symptom of a hardening of the government's approach to migration in response to the political challenge of Nigel Farage's Reform party.
Keir Starmer has been accused in recent days of echoing the far right after the prime minister made a speech in which he warned of the risk of Britain becoming an 'island of strangers'.
The theatre said: 'We're extremely disappointed that the UK Home Office has denied renowned writer Ibrahima Balde a visa to visit the UK to attend the upcoming performances at Jermyn Street theatre of Little Brother, a play adapted from his PEN Award-winning memoir of the same name.
'Little Brother tells Ibrahima's story of leaving his home in Guinea to find his younger brother who is trying to make his way to Europe.
'His book has become a source of inspiration across the world and led to him meeting with Pope Francis.
'It has been met with critical acclaim, translated into 13 languages, and read by countless people around the globe who have been drawn to a deeply personal narrative that gives voice to the often-nameless people behind the headlines about migration.'
The theatre added: 'The refusal of a visa to a writer of such magnitude denies UK audiences an important cultural connection, and it is a decision which cannot be removed from the current political conversations around migration and the political rhetoric that surround them.
'Jermyn Street theatre urges the Home Office to reconsider this decision and allow him entry into the country to attend the premiere of a play based upon his story.'
Wertenbaker, whose best-known work, Our Country's Good, received six Tony nominations for its 1991 production, said: 'It breaks my heart that the Home Office does not trust the intentions of such a special man who already has gone through so much. The decision illustrates why staging this play is important.
'We must never forget that the stories of migrants are human stories and to deny a writer the opportunity to participate in the staging of his own work runs the risk of losing sight of that.'
Balde, who co-authored his memoir with the Spanish poet, Amets Arzallus Antia, said: 'I am disappointed by the decision of the Home Office which will prevent me travelling to London to see my own story on stage in London.
'This is my story but also the story of many others who have undertaken the same journey. I was to be in London for four days before returning to my home in Madrid. I hope a way can be found for me to attend the play in London.
'The world is a very big place for many people, with so much space for the want and need to explore. But for some people, like me, the world is a small place, the rest of which I am not allowed to see.'
The book's publishers in the UK, Scribe Publications, said it was 'deeply concerned that such a significant writer has been denied a visa to the UK at the moment where his story – one shared by many migrants entering Europe – is due to be introduced to a new audience.'
The Home Office has been approached for comment.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
25 minutes ago
- BBC News
The World Tonight Will voters feel better off from Chancellor's spending plans?
What would you do with a trillion pounds of public money over the next four years? The Chancellor says "renewing Britain" is at the heart of her plans. So when will voters start to feel better off? We ask a Treasury Minister. Also on the programme: After the US Ambassador to Israel told us that Muslim countries should give up their land to create a Palestinian state - we get reaction from a senior Palestinian official. And one of the most influential figures in the history of pop music, Brian Wilson - the creative genius behind the Beach Boys - has died. The veteran DJ Bob Harris - who knew him for more than five decades - pays tribute.


BBC News
28 minutes ago
- BBC News
Aukus: US to review submarine pact as part of 'America First' agenda
The US has launched a review of its multi-billion dollar submarine deal with the UK and Australia, saying the security pact must fit its "America First" the trilateral pact, widely seen as a response to the growing power of China, Australia is to get its first nuclear-powered subs from the US, before the allies create a new fleet by sharing cutting-edge Australia and the UK - which did its own review last year - have sought to play down news of the US probe, saying it is natural for a new administration to move comes as Australia faces pressure from the White House to lift its military spending, from 2% to 3.5% of GDP, a push so far resisted by Canberra. The agreement - worth £176bn ($239bn; A$368bn) - was signed in 2021, when all three countries involved had different leaders."The department is reviewing Aukus as part of ensuring that this initiative of the previous administration is aligned with the President's America First agenda," a US defence official told the BBC."As [US Defense] Secretary [Pete] Hegseth has made clear, this means ensuring the highest readiness of our servicemembers, that allies step up fully to do their part for collective defense, and that the defense industrial base is meeting our needs."The review will be headed up Elbridge Colby, who has previously been critical of Aukus, in a speech last year questioning why the US would give away "this crown jewel asset when we most need it".Defence Minister Richard Marles, speaking to local Australian media on Thursday morning local time, said he was optimistic the deal would continue. "I'm very confident this is going to happen," he told ABC Radio Melbourne."You just need to look at the map to understand that Australia absolutely needs to have a long-range submarine capability."Some in Australia have been lobbying for the country to develop a more independent defence strategy, but Marles said it was important to "stick to a plan" - a reference to the previous government's controversial cancellation of a submarine deal with France in favour of Australian government spokesperson told the BBC it was "natural" that the new administration would "examine" the agreement, adding the UK had also recently finished a review of the security pact between the long-standing allies. There is "clear and consistent" support for the deal across the "full political spectrum" in the US, they said, adding Australia looked forward to "continuing our close cooperation with the Trump Administration on this historic project".A UK defence spokesperson told the BBC it was "understandable" for a new administration to look at the deal, "just as the UK did last year". Aukus is a "landmark security and defence partnership with two of our closest allies", the spokesperson said, and "one of the most strategically important partnerships in decades, supporting peace and security in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic".


Daily Mail
41 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Orlando Bloom's just paid £10,000 to have his blood 'cleaned' - but here are 7 much cheaper ways to reduce the quantity of microplastics in your body
At 48, Orlando Bloom still looks as fresh-faced (and drop-dead gorgeous) as when he started out in Hollywood three decades ago. It's unsurprising, then, that the Lord of the Rings star is no stranger to rejuvenating – and often intrusive – procedures, from purging his body with frog poison to ingesting bentonite clay to cleanse his digestive system. But the actor's latest treatment might be his wildest yet. Bloom headed to London 's Clarify Clinic for a £10,000 procedure where a machine supposedly removed the microplastics from his blood.