Chinonyerem is a Nigerian British playwright, screenwriter, and poet. Her recent work ranges from Medea at Bristol Old Vic, We Too, Are Giants for Kiln Theatre, Unknown Rivers at Hampstead Theatre, Prince and the Pauper at Watermill Theatre, The Seven Ages of Patience at Kiln Theatre, and Princess & The Hustler which toured across the UK for Eclipse Theatre/Bristol Old Vic/Hull Truck. She is currently working on commissions for Young Vic, RSC, and Paines Plough. She was the inaugural Writer-in-Residence at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2020/2021.

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Her work for theatre includes The Bird Woman of Lewisham at the Arcola; Rainy Season, and His Name is Ishmael for Bristol Old Vic; Joanne for Clean Break, and Amongst the Reeds for Clean Break/The Yard Theatre. Her work for young people includes a modern retelling of Twist for Theatre Centre and Sweetness of a Sting for NT Connections.

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Her work has been shortlisted for several awards including the Adrienne Benham and Alfred Fagon awards. In 2015 her unproduced play Wild is De Wind was shortlisted to the final ten for the Bruntwood Playwriting Award. She is the winner for the 2018 Sonia Friedman Award (Channel 4 Playwright Bursary) for a new play How to Walk on the Moon, and a finalist for the inaugural Women Playwriting Prize 2020 for her play Paradise Street.

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Chino’s TV credits includes Scotch Bonnet for BBC Three and A Blues for Nia for BBC/Eclipse Theatre, Adulting for Channel 4, and more recently My Best Friend Married a Warrior for CBBC. She is currently developing TV series ideas for Popcorn Productions and BlackLight.

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For radio, credits include The Last Flag, and Eve as part of This Is Your Country, Now series on BBC Radio 4.

As a director, Chino has worked for Bristol Old Vic, Theatre503 and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She will be directing the remount of her new musical play Black Love in March 2022, as well an audio drama for Live Theatre/BBC Radio 4 in March 2021. Chinonyerem is currently directing a new play When the Long Trick's Over by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm which will open at New Wolseley Theatre in Feb 2022.

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Chinonyerem Odimba is Chair of Trustees at Theatre Bristol, a Trustee on the board at Bristol Old Vic and part of Freelancers Make Theatre Work collective.