Idris Elba fights plagiarism claims over his South African inspired play Tree

05 Jul 2019 | Admin Author

Idris Elba has found himself under fire from Darah Henley and Tori Allen-Martin, two writers who worked on his project Tree for four years before they say they were forced off the team.

Tree centres around life in South Africa after Nelson Mandela and is currently enjoying a two week run at Upper Campfield Market Hall as part of the Manchester International Festival. The play is credited to Elba and the show’s director, Kwame Kwei-Armah.

Elba responded to the women’s claims via Twitter saying that he found them to be "offensive to me and my family". He also stated that Allen-Martin and Henley had decided to quit the play when “new ambitions” were proposed.

The two have been acknowledged in the foreword of Tree’s programme.