Joan is an actress, writer and producer. She played Adriana in The Comedy of Errors at the Bishop’s Palace in 2022.

Joan kicked off her acting career at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and after two seasons there, hilariously, she was yet to do a Shakespeare. Eventually, she was cast as Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream but then resumed the non-Shakespeare’s by going on to play the Duchess in The Duchess of Malfi in 2018. Other theatre credits include A Season in the Congo (Young Vic), Tree (Young Vic), Boudica (Shakespeare’s Globe), They Drink It In the Congo (Almeida) and Eclipsed (Gate Theatre).

Recent screen credits include Enterprice S1&2 (BBC), Black Earth Rising (BBC/NETFLIX), New Blood (BBC/NETFLIX), Too Close (ITV), Twice as Good (Film 4).

Joan is co-founder of Apatan Productions, a film and tv production company based in London. She co-wrote and produced DỌLÁPỌ̀ IS FINE, which won the HBO Short Film Award in 2020, was shortlisted for a BAFTA in 2021. It has screened at over 150 film festivals to date, and has been acquired by Netflix, HBO and Disney+. Other projects in development include TALAWA, MANGO, JUST KIDS, EXCELSIOR and OVERTURN.

Joan is Co-Founder of The Mono Box, a collaborative, not-for-profit organisation supporting emerging artists in theatre and film, and is also an Associate Artist at Donmar Warehouse where she recently curated the WE. BLACK WOMEN. exhibition.

This will be Joan’s third trip to Ireland this year, which she is thrilled by, given that she has long believed that the Irish and Nigerian are kindred spirits.