On November 30, 2024, Oyinkan Braithwaite announced via her Instagram page that her bestselling novel My Sister, the Serial Killer will be adapted into a ballet by the renowned Ballet Black company. The adaptation is part of Ballet Black’s 2025 double bill, set to premiere at the Hackney Empire in London in March 2025.
Braithwaite expressed her excitement, writing:
“I am so excited to announce that the @originalballetblack 2025 double bill will include an adaptation of My Sister, the Serial Killer. Tickets now available for the March 2025 London premiere at the Hackney Empire. See you there! I’ll be the girl in the stalls crying tears of wonder and joy.”
The creative team includes direction and choreography by Cassa Pancho, with contributions from associate choreographer Jacob Wye. Lighting design is by David Plater, original music composed by Tom Harrold, and designs by Jessica Cabassa. Charlotte Broom serves as rehearsal director. The cast features Isabela Coracy as Korede, Helga Paris Morales as Ayoola, and Ebony Thomas as Tade.
After its London premiere, the production will tour multiple UK venues, including the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, Capital Theatres in Edinburgh, and The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury.
Oyinkan Braithwaite, born in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1988, is a Nigerian-British author and illustrator renowned for her debut novel, My Sister, the Serial Killer. She spent parts of her childhood in both Nigeria and the UK, returning to Lagos in 2001. Braithwaite pursued higher education in the UK, studying Law and Creative Writing at the University of Surrey and Kingston University.
After completing her studies, she returned to Lagos in 2012, where she worked as an assistant editor at Kachifo Limited, a Nigerian publishing house, and as a production manager at Ajapa World, a children’s educational and entertainment company. In 2014, she was shortlisted as a top-ten spoken-word artist in the Eko Poetry Slam, and in 2016, she was a finalist for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize.
Her novel, My Sister, the Serial Killer, published in 2018, received critical acclaim, winning the 2019 LA Times Award for Best Crime Thriller and being shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2019. Braithwaite’s work is celebrated for its dark humor and unique narrative style, contributing significantly to contemporary African literature.
Congratulations Oyinkan Braithwaite!
Bakare Oluwatobiloba
I write to educate, motivate and define history with literature. Just being me!
