Talented actor and singer Giles Terera has an impressive CV. Soon after graduating from drama school he joined the special ensemble company at the National Theatre set up by its former artistic director Trevor Nunn. He has played Horatio in Hamlet, also at the National, and Caliban in The Tempest at the RSC opposite the Oscar nominated Ralph Fiennes.
Also a West End musical veteran, he has performed in crowd pleasing shows such as Rent, Jailhouse Rock and The Rat Pack. Despite carving out a successful theatre career, Terera decided to partner with the National Theatre to launch Walk in the Light, a week-long celebration of the unsung achievements of black artists in British Theatre spanning 50 years. He explains to Joy Francis why he felt a responsibility to honour the work of black artists such as Yvonne Brewster, Jeffery Kissoon and Mustapha Matura, and why there is still room for improvement in theatreland.
How did you come up with the idea of Walk in the Light?
I was aware it was the 50th anniversary of the National [Theatre] and I thought about the black artists who came before me. During my first year of working as an actor in 1999 I worked with Oscar James, Yvonne Brewster, Carmen Munroe and Don Warrington. I was struck by what they had told me about their experiences in the theatre. So many of these great actors are pioneers but they haven’t had the acknowledgment that they deserve. I wrote to Nicholas Hytner [director at the National] about having an event. He thought it was a great idea.
The contribution of black artists to British theatre isn’t widely celebrated. Why do you think that is?
I’m not sure why. All the evidence of their contribution is there and is undeniable. Theatre is still largely seen as a white middle class experience and maybe the theatre establishment doesn’t necessarily know how to reach the black community, the Asian community and the Muslim community. Maybe there is a hesitancy about doing that, though I think it should be done. It is to the National’s credit that they have decided to do this event. It is important that Walk in the Light is not seen as ‘a black event’. It is for everyone. I plan to talk to drama students about the event. I will tell them it is important that all of them know of this history, not just the black students.
Why the title, Walk in the Light?
It’s an old song of the church that I love. It’s a song about community that’s often sung by the congregation as a whole. In Zora Neale Hurtson’s seminal Harlem renaissance book Their Eyes Were Watching God, there’s a beautiful part in it where the main character Janie Starck marries a man who establishes one of the first black towns in America. As the community congregate to light the first street lamp they all sing Walk in the Light. I’m always aware that for us there isn’t that much difference between how we praise and worship and feel about god and how we feel about expressing ourselves through stories, theatre and art. I think they are connected. That is what I feel as I work on this project.
How did you come up with the programme as 50 years of black artistic endeavour is a rich legacy to draw from?
We decided to take each decade, work out who the key people were and what key events were happening in the theatre and socially at that time. It is such a huge project. At the end of the week-long programme we will have a Sunday celebration which will feature extracts from some of the significant plays, and singing from musical theatre, to highlight the things we were unable to touch on during the week.
Can you say, hand on heart, things have improved for black theatre artists and if so, is the progress sustainable?
Things have got better since I started working nearly 15 years ago. I don’t think things are ideal, but then I don’t think things are ideal in society. You only have look at the recent revelations about Stephen Lawrence [the alleged smear campaign by the Metropolitan Police] to know where we are in society. When I went to drama school I thought the theatre was for white people. A brilliant drama teacher told me that I was part of theatre and that my history was as much about storytelling and expressing through art and performance as anyone else’s. That advice has stayed with me.
Walk in the Light runs at the National Theatre from 15 to 21 July. Find out more