Noma Dumezweni is a chameleon. From New York to Cuba, from Nigeria to South Africa, her ability to play with accents and reflect different cultural experiences, both past and present, is impressive. The Olivier Award winner for her role in the Young Vic production of the American classic A Raisin in the Sun, has acted with Jude Law in Michael Grandage’s Henry V and charmed in Bola Agbaje’s Belong (Royal Court). On TV she has appeared in shows such as Frankie, Roy Williams’ Fallout and Little Miss Jocelyn and in film, alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor in Dirty Pretty Things.
In her latest production, A Human Being Died that Night, she plays Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, a leading South African psychologist, who interviewed Eugene de Kock, apartheid’s chief murderer, for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. She tells Joy Francis about the appeal of the theatre, meeting both Gobodo-Madikizela and de Kock, how she overcame her fear of playing the role and why she believes de Kock has changed.
In A Human Being Died That Night, you play Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, the amazing psychologist who got Eugene de Kock to open up about his crimes. What attracted you to the role?
I didn’t know anything about these two people or the book. I knew the director and writer, and they were aware of my South African connections. Then I read Pumla’s book, on which the play is based, and I watched her on YouTube. Afterwards I thought, what an amazing woman. I want to do this. I was offered the part before we found Matthew [Marsh, who plays de Kock]. It’s a gorgeous part. I feel as if I’m serving in this play. I’m really enjoying it. It is about South African now and then and the fact that the story is real. Apart from a few changes for the scenes, most of the language is the same.
Your parents are from South Africa. You were born in Swaziland before coming to England and growing up in Suffolk. Does the play resonate for you culturally?
Yes and no. I knew about apartheid. My parents left because of this and some years later arrived in Suffolk. We are not Jamaican or Nigerian. We are South African. That is what is really interesting so there was a lot of fear attached to doing the play. I told myself, we are just doing a play. Then I hear that we would definitely be going to South Africa to perform the play. I thought – they won’t believe me. Will they buy me as a real South African? I did get scared. My ego as an actor is that I want it to be good in the part. In the end it has been an absolute blessing.
Didn’t you meet Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela and Eugene de Kock in South Africa?
Yes. We performed the play in Cape Town first and then at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg. Pumla lives near Cape Town. I was told she was coming but then heard she had cancelled. She turned up on the penultimate night in Cape Town. I wondered if she was nervous. I would be if I had to see someone playing me in a production from another country. The night she came, in my head it was the worse I had ever done it. She had brought Archbishop Desmond Tutu with her and I got a big hug from him. I was fascinated to finally meet Pumla, the woman I’m playing. I asked her if she was nervous about coming to see the play and she said yes. Happily, she came the next night and invited us to lunch the next day. She also came to the performance in Johannesburg with her family and invited psychologists to see it. She is a phenomenal woman. With Eugene, I went with Matthew and met him on the last week at Pretoria Central Prison. I won’t get into it too deeply, but the person that I met for that hour I really liked. He is someone who has taken responsibility for the atrocious and appalling things he did. He is helping missing person groups and has turned around a couple of white supremacist groups.
Did meeting them inform your role in the play?
Absolutely. We met Eugene on a Saturday morning and the Saturday evening performance was weird. I had met the real Eugene and the real Pumla. It was an out of body experience. You can’t help but imbue what you felt when you meet these people. Eugene’s sense of humour was apparent as was the brightness and charm of Pumla. These two people are why we are telling this story in London at this moment.
Your career has been diverse, to say the least, including TV and film. But the last few years you have been a stalwart of the theatre. Any particular reason?
That is where the good work comes for me, but there is also a part of me saying that I’ve got to do more TV and film, for my learning and as a different way of doing things. I did Frankie [TV series] which was small enough for me to enjoy but it didn’t go anywhere. Someone said to me that to do TV properly I have to stop doing theatre, but I have to pay the bills. I get nice offers for things but I’m also good at saying no as well. You have to do that when you are in a creative field. Doing Henry V with Jude Law for the Michael Grandage Company was an experience that I had never had in the theatre. Michael’s Othello with Chiwetel [Ejiofor] was extraordinary so I thought – I want to work with you. I’m more interested in who is playing in the room. Who is the director? Who is the writer? It is about the discovery and how can we make it work. That is what excites me.
What next for you after this play?
I’m still a jobbing actor. I’ve got auditions at the moment so it’s wait and see. Who knows.
What advice would you give to the next generation of actors?
You’ve got to love it. You’ve got to push yourself. Enjoying playing. The advice will shift from job to job. It is a hard gig and the payoff is beautiful, but you mustn’t define yourself by it. My niche is my niche. Stop judging yourself against others. That is my number one rule.