Jae

Actor, Poet, and Photographer

Career

Kent, known as Judy Simone Nyamburah, began working professionally in the arts at the age of 15. In 2003, she served as music coordinator for the album Maroon by The R.I.S.E. (Revolutionary Independence Solid Eloquent) Project, and wrote the script for the music video All About The Benjamins.

In 2005, Nyamburah made her poetry debut in collaboration with the political rap duo Dead Prez during African History Week, organized by Gate Profeter. Since then, she has collaborated with artists such as Amiri Baraka, The Last Poets, and Nicole Rafiki. In 2010, she shared the stage with Saul Williams and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra in the performance Said The Shotgun To The Head.

In the same year, Karanja’s photographs Secret Society and Coming to A.Free.Kah were exhibited and sold out at Riksscenen as part of the Visible–Invisible art exhibition, alongside artists like Herman Mbamba and Fadlabi. Her photography has also been featured in several issues of Kush Magazine and Kingsize Magazine.

In 2015, Karanja earned a bachelor’s degree in acting and production at Nord University through “Det Multinorske” at Det Norske Teatret. That same year, she debuted as Paula in the political satire musical Halve Kongeriket (winner of the 2016 Komiprisen), and has since performed in productions such as The Book of Mormon (winner of the 2018 Hedda Award for Best Production and Best Script), Peer Gynt, and Linje 5.

Nyamburah has also appeared in the NRK TV series Valkyrien, Livstid, and Unge Lovende, and is a member of the artistic council at Vega Scene.

Theatre (selected):

• Min Venn Romvesenet (2021) – Det Norske Teatret
• Om Sjølvmordets Anatomi (2021) – Det Norske Teatret
• Lear (2020) – Det Norske Teatret
• Linje 5 (2020) – Det Norske Teatret
• Charlie og Sjokoladefabrikken (2019–2020) – Det Norske Teatret
• Peer Gynt (2018) – Det Norske Teatret
• The Book of Mormon (2017–2019) – Det Norske Teatret
• Halve Kongeriket (2015) – Det Norske Teatret

Filmography (selected):

• Storm (TBA), directed by Erica Calmeyer
• Livstid (2019) – NRK series
• Ute Av Kontekst (2019) – Short film
• Valkyrien (2017) – NRK series
• Unge Lovende (2017) – NRK series