Photo credit Mark Douet
Actor, director and playwright Lucian Msamati could be described as a polymath. Born in the UK, he was brought up in Zimbabwe where he studied French and Portuguese at university before pursuing his dream of acting by establishing the acclaimed Over the Edge Theatre Company with his friends. Since relocating to the UK he has acted widely in the theatre, such as Fabulation (Tricycle), Death and the King’s Horseman (National) and Clybourne Park (Royal Court). He is also a TV regular with appearances in BBC1’s Luther and The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency right through to the acclaimed Game of Thrones, and on the big screen, including The International and Richard II.
From 2010 to 2014 Msamati took a slight detour from acting when he became artistic director at British-African theatre company Tiata Fahodzi. After a successful run he returned to acting and this year made history as the first black actor ever to play Iago in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Othello. Now starring in Marcus Gardley’s A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes at Tricycle Theatre, Msamati tells Joy Francis of the motivation behind taking up the reins at Tiata Fahodzi, why he agrees with the sentiment of Viola Davis’ electrifying Emmy Awards 2015 speech and what to do if you ever want his advice on a career in acting.
What made you say yes to the role of Archbishop Tardimus Toof in Marcus Gardley’s A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes?
The script is fantastic. I loved the idea that it was an adaptation of Molière’s Tartuffe. I remember seeing a school production in Zimbabwe years ago. I loved the satirical comic element of it, and I liked the idea of it being transposed. Also Indhu [Rubasingham] is a skilled director and a good friend, so I had no choice but to say yes.
What is it like working with both Indhu and Marcus, especially in the wake of their acclaimed production of The House That Will Not Stand?
Indhu put it perfectly at the first meet and greet. That it was like stepping into a warm fuzzy bath when you are working with so many people you know, love, trust, respect and admire. It’s been a fantastic rehearsal period; lots of laughter and plenty of rigour.
Though you were born in the UK, you were brought up in Zimbabwe by Tanzanian parents, and worked in advertising for a while before launching the acclaimed Over the Edge Theatre Company in Harare with friends. What made you decide to carve out a career in the arts, and how has your early creative experiences in Zimbabwe shaped you?
I always knew what I wanted to do from the age of three. I have vivid memories of watching Grease [the movie] and thinking – these people are having a lot of fun. I want to do that. The certainty within me was never an issue, but coming from a family of academics – my father was a doctor – and being the first born son, you are expected to follow in your father’s footsteps. My attempt to go to drama school was thwarted very early on. The gang I launched the theatre company with are friends. We had a shared dream and passion. When you surround yourself with the right people they make the blood, sweat and tears worth it.
Which creative pull came first for you – the acting or directing?
Everything came as a result of wanting to facilitate the acting. When you have a passion for something, not just an interest, but when you feel something is ‘a calling’, the level of engagement is something else. You don’t just watch a film for the pretty pictures; you ask different questions, such as why is the camera here and not there? Or why did that actor do this and not that? You are engaging with it on a different level. That is what drives you to be better at what you do rather than diving in and hoping for the best. There are lots of people who come up to me and say, I really like acting and I want to be an actor. I say, if you are really interested in acting you would be doing it already, or you would be part of a company already. What you are exhibiting to me is that you like the idea of being famous, which is a very different thing. If you want to genuinely do this as a career for the rest of your life, you wouldn’t be here talking to me. I would never dissuade people from pursuing their passion, but it is important to separate the wheat from the chaff. If you really want to be an actor, we should be having a different conversation.
In November 2010 you were appointed artistic director of the British-African theatre company Tiata Fahodzi. Although you left last year, you still continue to work with the company. What drew you to Tiata Fahodzi, and how do you decide when to act and when to direct?
There were practical and strategic reasons for taking the job. I wanted to challenge myself and use my other faculties. I also didn’t want to sit on the sidelines when this was another chance to make something happen. It wasn’t necessarily an easy decision, and I had frank discussions with the board, my representatives and family about what it would mean. A lot of acting opportunities fell by the wayside, due to my commitment to the company, but you can’t regret what you never had. There did come a point when I felt I could no longer sustain my two careers and my family. Ambition is fantastic but it has a cost, but you know within yourself when it’s time to move on. I believed that the company needed someone else for the next phase of its life and it now has a superb director in Natalie [Ibu].
In spring 2015, you became the first black actor ever to play Iago in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Othello. Viola Davis’ recent history-making moment as the first woman of colour to win an Emmy for best actress in a drama series led her to say that “the only thing that separates women of colour from anyone else is opportunity”. Do you share her sentiment?
It’s a tricky one. On one hand my journey to this point has been very much about making my own opportunities. On the other hand, forging my career in Zimbabwe, I was an ‘actor’. In my first steps as an actor in Britain I became a ‘black actor’, and it soon became very clear what that meant: limits and assumptions not of my own creation or choosing were thrust upon me. So even before a line had been uttered as it were, the deck had been unfairly stacked, so Ms Davis has a point. The limit of another person’s imagination is not my problem, or my issue. It strikes me as strange that I can watch The Lord of the Rings (or Grease for that matter), really love it and be taken by the story, but suddenly people will turn around and say there are no black people in Middle Earth. Why wouldn’t it work? It’s a fantasy. The question then becomes, ‘Who owns the fantasy and whose imagination are we talking about here?’ If your imagination is limited, then you have to go check yourself. At the same time I am well aware that, yes, I’m the first black actor to play Iago at the RSC and that these things are massive and important. I would also like to believe I was the best actor to play that role for that production.
What next for you?
After A Wolf Snakeskin Shoes, I will be at the National Theatre in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Any advice for the next generation of budding actors and directors of colour?
The only limit is what is in your imagination. I would also say that as much as there has to be passion and joy, there also has to be rigour.
A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes is at Tricycle Theatre until 14 November 2015.