“I speak five languages as result of being from a Zimbabwean family and growing up in South Africa. In South Africa we have 11 official national languages and I managed to learn three of them, which is nothing compared to most natives who can speak more than seven!“
What kind of actor do you aspire to be?
I want to be an actor who provides and represents stories that are untold or buried alongside the struggles of not being recognised. I come from a place that is politically driven by the lack of opportunities for young artists who come from an unfortunate financial background like myself and are suffocated by the non-existence of resources to stem from. I want to slowly but surely change that significantly and I want to be a great actor so that I can be one of the of many artists to open a door for young black women everywhere to walk into and thrive in a career that they are passionate about.
What performance piece did you choose for the showcase and why?
I chose the piece ‘Fishers of Hope’ by Lara Foot as the character Ruth. I have chosen this piece because it resonates with who I am as a South African woman poetically. It is a piece that has allowed me to be the most authentic of myself and I had so much experiencing and exploring it as a result of reliving and looking back at a unique and interesting culture.culture.
What book, theatre, film or TV production has most inspired you?
The film ’12 Years a Slave’ inspired me the most specifically to be an actor because of the performance of Lupita Nyong’o as Patsey. She opened a gateway for dark-skinned women like myself to believe that we can reach that level of phenomenal performance just like any other female actor who is not dark skinned or is preferred for a role on screen most of the time because of the privilege of being light-skinned. Especially in an industry that represented us the least at that time.
How have you been keeping creative during lockdown? I have been writing and reading a few poems as a result of being inspired by the multiple tragic events of the year 2020. This has been encouraging me to practise expressing my imagination into existence and allowing my art as an actor to live in and around me through poetry.