Photo credit Daniella Baynes
Nigerian-born and London-based award-winning playwright and director Gbolahan Obisesan is a Genesis Fellow at the Young Vic. He first made an impact as a playwright with Mad About the Boy, which ran at the Edinburgh Festival in 2011 and won a Fringe First for Best Play. His career path is sprinkled with an interesting range of productions and collaborations with some of theatreland’s leading figures, including being resident director for the National Theatre’s 2009 production of Fela!, associate director to Dominic Cooke for The Way of the World and Greg Doran’s associate director for the RSC on Julius Caesar.
Obisesan’s stage adaptation of Stephen Kelman’s novel Pigeon English opened at Bristol Old Vic in 2013 before a run at the Edinburgh Festival, and he was the only British writer among six commissioned to produce Feast, directed by Rufus Norris at the Young Vic in February 2013. His favourite production to date is the one he created for a younger audience, How Nigeria Became: A Story, And A Spear That Didn’t Work, which had a successful run at Unicorn Theatre. Now Obisesan is now branching out into film with his first feature We Get Around for Emu Films/Film4.
Not shy in speaking out about the lack of diversity among directors in theatre, he recently spoke at the Artistic Directors of the Future’s first anniversary event at the Young Vic, and was one of 10 playwrights of colour who wrote 15 minute plays as part of Black Lives, Black Words at Bush Theare.
Obisesan tells Joy Francis about how he has been inspired by the refugees in Calais, what he enjoys about being an ambassador for the Young Vic, why being a director of colour is a “lonely pursuit” and why his next project looks at female genital mutilation.
How are you finding being a Genesis Fellow at the Young Vic and how are you interpreting that role?
It’s great. It’s the kind of creative, developing and nurturing environment I have been searching for. The role encompasses a lot of creative input from me, and I’m a mentor and a director on the Directors’ Programme at the Young Vic. I also act as an ambassador for the building and travel. I recently went to Poland to nurture myself creatively in terms of the kind of theatrical culture in that country and how it can influence or feed into the work I might be interested in making. I also went to Calais, to visit the refugee camp, to lead some workshops. It was inspiring in a completely different way. It really asserted the resilient spirit of human beings, which is also part of the narrative of these displaced people who we don’t necessarily know much about apart from what is being fed to us through the news channels. It asserted their sense of dignity and the fact that the situation and the conditions they are living in are not something which is familiar or even comfortable for them. It’s desperate. It’s incredibly futile and uncompromising in its harshness. I’m still coming to terms with some of the conversations I have had with people as well as being inspired by the nobility of their understanding of the situation they are in.
Black Lives, Black Words at Bush Theatre was 10 staged 15 minute readings from 10 Black British playwrights as part of an international project on the black diaspora experience regarding #BlackLivesMatter. You were one of the 10. How was the experience for you?
It was great. It really affirmed a sense of creative community that isn’t always celebrated or even apparent to many of us who are trying to forge our way and are general artists in this creative industry. It was a very empowering experience to be able to contribute to the initiative and make a political statement with regards to black lives and why the Black Lives Matter campaign is still sadly relevant to contemporary lives in the 21st century. My piece was a satire about a political spin doctor and her colleague who is described as naturalised immigrant. It’s about the refugee crisis and the discussions about what is the best solution alongside how to avoid giving civilians and wider society the truth. The play goes through this meeting the spin doctor has with her assistant about a meeting they are about to have with the community in a town hall. They discuss how to say things that will not make people panic. The government representative plans to frame the answers to placate the community, rather than being truthful and honest, but it all boils over when an agitator in the community challenges what the government representative says. The government representative flips her lid and gives a diatribe, which is a very honest disclosure about her feeling towards refugees and immigrants. It exposes some of our latent prejudices based on the society we are being conditioned to ideologically support rather than thinking for ourselves.
Where are you at with We Get Around for Emu Films/Film4. Is this your first feature film and what is it about?
Yes it is my first feature. I’m just waiting for Film4 to get back to Emu with hopefully the good news that they are going to green light the project so we can move forward. It’s a love letter to London and about the young people in care who are trying to find the family they’ve always longed for; one they can rely on. It’s from the viewpoint of a particular subculture which isn’t well celebrated in British society or film culture. I’m hoping that with the controversy around Kids Company, and the changing policy around fostering and young people in care, that this film will touch on and highlight, but not overwhelm the audience with the topic
What attracted you to theatre, playwriting and directing?
I started off as an active member of the National Youth Theatre and I stayed with them for five years, constantly auditioning and getting into productions. During my time there they challenged current and former members to write a play, which sounded like something I could do. When I wrote the play I said I wanted to direct it. They were very supportive and encouraging and offered to pay me, which was great. From there it snowballed. I realised quite early on that I didn’t have all the skills a director needed so I looked for other avenues to gain the necessary skills and knowledge. I came across an introductory course in directing at the Young Vic. I did that, then the masterclass which led to my first assistant role, working directly on a project. Since then I haven’t looked back.
Your output is very diverse, from How Nigeria became… and We are Proud to present… to Feast, which had multiple playwrights and was directed by Rufus Norris. How do you decide what you want to write and direct?
How Nigeria became… is the one I am the most proud of in recent years. It has a universal appeal and has a sense of the magic of theatre. Hopefully there’s a handful of young people who were inspired by that play and will hold on to it, and change their perception of what theatre can do. I hope they can see that it can also be entertaining, informative and transformative. Often my starting point is identity and what it means to me or to the characters. I also think about how challenging it is for me to put on a play, or how urgent is the need to share this play or this story or this discussion with other people. If there is a real urgency, I will pursue it and hope I can achieve all of my aspirations, and as much as my creative vision, for that particular piece.
Who inspires you in theatre currently?
I really like actors. As acting was my first love, I am forever motivated by their excitement of wanting to work with particular actors or in certain theatres I want to work in. Also, if I see a really theatrically adventurous piece of theatre with exciting dialogue – that also inspires me. I saw a piece called Octagon [by Kristiana Rae Colón] at Arcola Theatre, which I thought was so inspirational. Written by an ex-slam poet, it was set in that particular world in New York. The use of language within the piece was really invigorating and some of the performers were so exciting to watch. I was captivated in a way I wasn’t expecting to be when I went.
At the first anniversary event for the Assistant Directors of the Future project, you said that being a director of colour can be a very “lonely creative pursuit”. How have you dealt with that?
I don’t think I’ve dealt with it at all. It’s still incredibly lonely. I think, to a certain extent, that feeling of loneliness can be alleviated a bit when you have a project to work on, put together a creative team and are discussing those ideas with them. But if you don’t have anything to work on, you are in pursuit of an opportunity to be creative and that pursuit can be lonely and soul destroying. I don’t think that will ever change. Currently, I’m incredibly fortunate to be in a very exciting theatre that I have always admired, and I’m surrounded by lots of different people who are feeding into the building in their own unique and often creative ways, which makes it less lonely.
What next for you?
One of the first pieces I will be working on here is Cuttin’ It by Charlene James, about two 15 year old Somali girls navigating their relationship with FGM. It will be on in May 2016 at the Young Vic and as a co-production with the Royal Court in Birmingham and Sheffield. It will be going to the Yard Theatre in Hackney and then the Latitude Festival. We are trying to accompany it with a short film inspired by the play, also written by Charlene and which I will direct.
Any advice for budding artistic directors of colour?
It’s all about dedication and the pursuit of your aspirations. It’s also about being ambitious about what you are able to achieve as well as who you are collaborating with, and how you are challenging yourself creatively. It’s about knowing your weaknesses and seeking out avenues to strengthen those weaknesses. It can be incredibly difficult to do that as a freelancer as you are constantly seeking out opportunities to gain the right experience, or putting together a strong enough CV, so it will be difficult to overlook your skills and experience.
Follow Gbolahan Obisesan on Twitter: @greatobisesan