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Patti-boulaye-2
Patti Boulaye

The Faith of a Child and You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two

Patti Boulaye and Stephen Komlosy Interviewed by Nick Higham

Sunday, 27 March 2022

12:00pm

1 hour

Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre

£7 - £12.50

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.

University of Oxford European Union Supported by the Delegation of the European Union to the UK Bodleian Libraries Festival cultural partner Oxford Martin School Festival ideas partner Oxford Mathematics Spanish Embassy The Spanish Embassy: supporters of the programme of Spanish literature and culture Spain Arts and Culture Cervantes Institute, London The Cervantes Institute, London elBullifoundation
 

The Oxford Literary Festival sponsors, donors & partners

The Telegraph Festival media partner University of Oxford European Union Supported by the Delegation of the European Union to the UK Bodleian Libraries Festival cultural partner Oxford Martin School Festival ideas partner Oxford Mathematics Spanish Embassy The Spanish Embassy: supporters of the programme of Spanish literature and culture Spain Arts and Culture Cervantes Institute, London The Cervantes Institute, London elBullifoundation Embassy of Peru Embassy of Peru Embassy of Chile in the UK Embassy of Chile Iberia British Airways Embassy of the Dominican Republic Embassy of the Dominican Republic Institut Ramon Llull Promoting Catalan culture and language worldwide Blackwell’s Festival on-site and online bookseller Symington Wines of the Douro Valley HM Government of Gibraltar Sotheby’s Compassion in World Farming Pasture to Plate Oxford Business College Where learning meets opportunity: education partners of the festival Old Bank Hotel Five-star hotel partners of The Oxford Collection Old Parsonage Hotel Five-star hotel partners of The Oxford Collection Oxford Brookes University Oxford International Centre for Publishing Gravita Accountants to the festival Confucius Institute Voltaire Foundation Felicity Bryan Associates Goldmoney Properties Princeton University Press Prestige publishing partner. Celebrating 25 years in Europe in 2024 Oxford University Department for Continuing Education Jewish Book Week Partner of Oxford Literary Festival Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize Jim Mellon Miles Young Tim and Marion Stevenson Martin and Elise Becket Smith Ian and Carol Sellars David Isaac Mary and Cecil Quillen Supporters of the programme of American literature and culture Other donors Yale University Press London New College New College founded 1379 Exeter College Exeter College: college home of the festival. Founded 1314 Worcester College Worcester College founded 1714 Lincoln College Lincoln College founded 1427 Trinity College Trinity College founded 1555 Magdalen College Magdalen College founded 1458 Brasenose College Brasenose College founded in 1512 Reuben College Reuben College founded in 2019 Harris Manchester College Harris Manchester College founded 1893 Pusey House Founded 1884 New Dutch Writing Human Ecology Project MACROVegan Bear Ram Elk Festival Digital Strategy & Web Design Racalia Olive Oil Olive oil from Sicily Paul Bloomfield Ltd University of Oxford Alumni Office Alumni Office The Sheldonian Theatre Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies Oxford University Images Oxford University Images CAV Oxford The Litmus Partnership Schoolreaders Science Oxford Windrush Group The Oxford Times Italian Cultural Institute BBC Radio Oxford Local radio partner Conference Oxford Ox in a Box OX magazine Africa programme American programme