Kwame Kwei-Armah

Actor and playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah is castaway by Kirsty Young.

Kwame's creative output spans both high art and popular culture.

He became a household name starring in BBC ONE's medical drama series Casualty as paramedic Finlay Newton from 1999 until 2004.

Yet at the same time, he was pursuing a career in writing. His award-winning plays have been staged at the National Theatre in London. He's just finished a stint as the artistic director of The World Festival of Black Arts in Senegal and his next posting is to the US, where he's taking over a theatre in Baltimore.

Throughout his life, he says, he continues to be inspired by the joyful atmosphere he grew up in. "My home was so warm, so full of life and noise. Most of my theatre I call the theatre of my front room. My memory was just this citadel to love and joy."

DISC ONE: Lord Kitchener - Sugar Bum Bum
DISC TWO: Marvin Gaye - What's Going On?
DISC THREE: Stevie Wonder - Superwoman
DISC FOUR: Bob Marley - So Much Trouble in the World
DISC FIVE: Ijahman Levi - I’m a Levi
DISC SIX: Public Enemy - Fight the Power
DISC SEVEN: Donnie McClurkin - We Fall Down
DISC EIGHT: Earth, Wind & Fire - Runnin’

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Public Enemy - Fight the Power
BOOK CHOICE: The complete works of August Wilson
LUXURY CHOICE: A basic word processor

Producer: Leanne Buckle

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.