Patti Boulaye and Stephen Komlosy Interviewed by Nick Higham

Husband and wife team actress and singer Patti Boulaye and retired entrepreneur Stephen Komlosy talk about their lives together and about their work for the Support for Africa charity they founded.

Boulaye describes in her autobiography, The Faith of a Child, how she survived the Biafra War and set off for the United Kingdom at 16 to become a nun. By chance, she landed a part in the original West End production of Hair, launching a singing and acting career that has seen her appear in several West End musicals, win the ITV talent show New Faces, appear in the biggest grossing African film ever, Bisi, Daughter of the River, and release nine albums and 25 singles. She was one of the leading black British entertainers of the 1970s and 1980s and had her own show on Channel 4. Komlosy had a significant business career including establishing several businesses and working at director level in others. He co-founded and managed the West End theatre company Larry Parnes Organisation. In his book, You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two, he describes a period managing pop stars and entertainers in the 1960s, including Lionel Bart.

Boulaye and Komlosy have been married for more than 45 years. They set up the Support for Africa Charity in 2000. It has built five clinics in rural Africa and a school with Prince Harry’s charity, Sentebale, in Lesotho.  Here they talk to journalist Nick Higham, who was the BBC’s first ever media correspondent and is a former presenter of Meet the Author on the BBC news channel.

This event is part of the festival’s programme of African literature and culture.