ATN interview: Chuk Iwuji, The Observer
 To some, Nigerian born actor Chuk Iwuji represents the future of acting. Having been most famous for playing the white English King, Henry VI with the Royal Shakespeare Company he is the archetype for colour blind casting. He has also appeared in productions of Phaedra, King Lear, The Winter’s Tale and The Bacchae which all contain roles that are traditionally played by white actors. He is currently staring in Matt Charman’s political drama The Observer, where he plays Daniel; a West African translator caught in the middle when a senior member of the International Election Observation Team gets a too involved in the country’s first democratic election. The warm, charming and delightfully talkative actor sat down for a chat with Karla Williams.
So first of all, what attracted you to the role of Daniel?
I first got involved in it during a workshop of the play and I guess what attracted me first was someone said Richard Eyre was directing it and he’s just a legend. I am always drawn by who’s involved in a project because that often is an indicator of the quality. And then I read the play and I was quite blown away at how much it read like a thriller; you don’t often see thrillers on stage…and this read like a really good thriller. It was very interesting to see how although a lot of the characters were episodic he (Matt Charman - writer) still managed to create real characters even when you only saw someone once - I think that’s evidence of a good writer. So I was excited by the director and I was excited by the play.
So how did you find working on the production?
It was brilliant. It helps when you have faith in the project and everyone had a lot of faith in the project right from the start just because it was a very good play. But the rehearsal room…it was a very warm sort of creative - the opposite of frantic rehearsal space is the way I like to look at it. It was one that I thought you could really explore stuff. And of course the cast are genuinely really nice, really good people. But I think the main thing that pulled it together, was knowing that you were going to embark on a very important, appropriate, strong piece of work and that just takes away the nerves because your not working to make it a great play; you already know you have that so you can relax into doing you job.
 The Observer is written by Matt Charman and there have been a number of plays that tackle black issues that have been either written or directed by white practitioners. Why do you think that is?
Well there’s the practical side of it, where its finances and who has the funding. Secondly - I get asked this question all the time because a lot of my work has been me playing roles that would traditionally go to white people so its sort of an interesting question for me – I would love to see a black director put on a Sam Sheppard or what is considered a white play. I wouldn’t sit there and go ‘why are you doing a white play?’ I think you go with whatever policy allows something to be seen by as many people as possible. You want your product out there; you want something you’ve worked on out there. And yes I understand that sort of view to say, ‘yes I would like a black company to put this on for me from beginning to end’, but at the same time you question yourself and you go, ‘well if the national is interested in that you can guarantee at least this many people seeing this.’ So what’s your responsibility – to your ideal world or to the play and the people you’re trying to educate.
So why do you think it isn’t often seen the other way, with a number of black directors directing ‘white plays’?
Well I don’t know… (Pause) It’s about being in the minority, you probably feel, because we are the minority, to say my responsibility, my moral responsibility, is to promote black plays. The other factor you’re not in control of is you have to get the rights for a white play; you have to have the money to put it on. There’s also the practical side of it. I also think that sometimes when you are in the minority – which lets face it black plays are and Asian plays are – you feel sometimes an obligation to put those plays forward; a sort of cultural obligation.
You are probably most famous for playing Henry VI with the RSC. How did you find working with them?
The RSC is sort of my adopted home in a way because my first job when I came to England was with them. And I guess ultimately my theatrical break up job was with them. So it was amazing. It allows, if your one of the lucky ones, growth because I started playing a spear carrier basically and the second time I came back I was playing a leading role and the third time I came back I was playing the title role so it was a graduation which was text book and brilliant. I owe a lot of gratitude to them. It’s a place that demands a lot of hard work and a lot of time but also a great training ground. I found it a wonderful training ground for my craft, physically, my approach to Shakespeare – it was an extension of drama school for me, but at the same time giving you the exposure you wanted.
 The RSC are gaining a reputation for colour blind casting. As a black actor how do you feel about colour blind casting?
I think (Pause) I think it’s brilliant. I think it’s important but I don’t think it should ever be imposed on anyone because you don’t want to get a job because someone said they had to do colour blind casting; you want to feel the director went after you because you were the best person for the job. It’s a bit like affirmative action; if it’s for the right reasons then brilliant but it can easily be misconstrued. But it has to go the other way too. I hear a lot of people screaming for colour blind casting but you wonder if it were a black play or a black topic whether it would be the same way. So I think it should be left up to the director. I know I owe a big chunk of my career to colour blind casting but I don’t think it should be something that is pursued as a policy. I don’t think you should blur the line of artistic integrity by something political; that really worries me because then it becomes about filling some kind of quota and it should never be about that.
We are often told that it is twice as hard for a black actor as for a white one. How have you found it in this industry?
When I graduated from drama school, I was briefly in America because that is where I trained so I had to sign up with an agent there and she called me into her office and she said ‘I’m going to be serious with you, for every one audition I send you out on a white guy of your type, your build, your looks, you ability, your experience, I’ll probably send him out on four.’ That is something that happens behind closed doors; I don’t know what meetings I could have got or should have got that I don’t get, I can only speak about the meetings I actually got. For me, I have been blessed and lucky and the work has come. When I think of my break out role being playing a white English king, how can I sit here and say the industry has been unfair to me. But at the same time I am not naïve enough to say to you that I have as much chance as getting whatever role as that guy. The fact is most of the TV you watch still is predominately a white cast so I don’t want to sit and blame the industry but a lot of the writers out there are white actors writing – they always say write what you know. So maybe the solution is more long term in that we have to start creating more of our work to even it out a bit.
 So what would you say some of the challenges are that you had to overcome in you career?
When I talk to friends that have regular jobs and you see their mouths open when I talk about auditioning and rejection - which is the norm – and they can’t quite fathom it. Most people in regular jobs go for a job meeting once every few years when they want to move on – if ever. So they can’t fathom a life where you’re doing that several times a week and probability is saying you won’t get it. Because every now and then you can brush it off but every now and then it just punches home. Perhaps it’s a role you really thought you were right for, maybe it’s the third of fourth rejection in a row, maybe its something in your private life is going wrong and that just compounds it. That’s’ the hard part of it and the inability to plan too far ahead. What people take for granted when they are taking a holiday, going to a friends wedding, someone’s birthday all these things you miss because you have to be available or ready or a job comes up; the normalcy or normality of life that people just take for granted which you miss out on. Even when you’re successful and you’ve got a few things under your belt, you’re always looking to the next job; you need to keep moving on, there is no settling.
Finally, why should people come and see The Observer?
It’s topical. It’s a fine example of how you can deal with serious issues without being hammered on the head with it. It’s real in the sense that it shows the ambiguity of every major choice most people have to make in life whether political, religious, social - whatever. It’s a play that will make you think, laugh and for some people, find quite emotional, so it has the whole packet I guess. And it’s just a fast paced fun night out that will leave you asking questions and if a show can do that - it’s done its job.
The Observer is at the National Theatre until 3 September, 2009.
ATN review: The Observer |
