Jimmy Akingbola a national tour. He played opposite Roger Lloyd-Pack and Shaun Evans in Joe Penhall's award-winning play; it was directed by Kathy Burke. Akingbola later went on to star in "The Cut" at the Donmar Warehouse opposite Ian McKellen, directed by Michael Grandage. Additional roles include Akingbola playing anti-hero Jimmy Porter in the John Osborne play of "Look Back in Anger" at the Jermyn Street Theatre in July 2008; he was the first black actor to play the role. The same year he played the title role of "Othello" for the company Frantic Assembly, which received a TMA Award. Akingbola’s television
Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (play) went on to win the Best Film Award at the Chicago International Film Festival. The Broadway version of "Jimmy Dean" was not well-received with critics. "The New York Times"<nowiki>'</nowiki> Frank Rich commented that "Neither the gimmicky plot nor its cliched participants are credible." John Simon of "New York Magazine" wrote, "Although the play becomes a little less boring in the second act, it is too little too late, and at the cost of some whopping improbabilities. Hit-and-miss directorial bravura and an expensive production are not enough to justify so much ado." Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean,