Following a much-applauded performance as multi-layered barrister Natalie Blake in the BBC adaptation of Zadie Smith’s novel ‘NW’ in 2016, Nikki Amuka-Bird is preparing to tackle another challenging role: Ellida in Ibsen’s ‘The Lady From The Sea’.
Directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah, it weaves Caribbean and African storytelling practices into a tale about a young wife’s obsession with her ex-lover. She tells Entertainment and Features Editor Nicole Vassell about her experience bringing some Antiguan spice to a 19th century Russian classic ‒ and the simple reason why she’s never had social media…
How are rehearsals going, Nikki?
Nikki Amuka-Bird: Really well, thanks! Today was our first day, and I’m feeling quite excited. We’ve just started putting into motion all of our play analysis, in front of Kwame [Kwei-Armah], directing us. He’s just so exciting, and has so much energy. This play could be really intense, but somehow he just injects so much fun, and makes it really enjoyable.
What’s it like to have a black director taking on an Ibsen play ‒ can’t imagine it happens often?
NAB: It’s amazing. In today’s warm-up, Kwame just played some great, Carnival music and got everyone up dancing; he was like, ‘I need everybody to be relaxed and feel free in their own space and just move for a second.’ It’s really exciting to have a mix of Caribbean and European culture together, and using the diversity of the cast in the room to make it a real melting pot.
This version of the play is set in the Caribbean, during Windrush times, and Kwame’s investigating these well-known marital scenarios from an Afrocentric perspective, coming from an understanding of African and West Indian culture where certain parts believe in ritual and spiritual life, and how the supernatural might slip in. It’s great!
How would you describe your own cultural background?
NAB: I was born in Nigeria, and moved to England with my Antiguan mother when I was about five. At nine, we moved to the West Indies, so I spent a lot of my formative years going back and forth between the UK and Antigua. And I went to boarding school in Surrey!
I feel quite privileged in the way that this kind of nomadic existence means that I’ve seen lots of varied perspectives and had different experiences. I feel equally English, West Indian and Nigerian, although I still have a lot more I need to learn about my African culture. I’m excited that I get to combine my classical training with my Caribbean side as well for this play!
Is there a particular dream role that you’d like to play?
NAB: This is a good start! I always enjoy playing really complex roles ‒ and Ellida, the character I play in The Lady from the Sea, is a romantic heroine, something I think is very important for women like myself to get to play, because women are desirable in many different ways. But it’s not objectified, it’s just that her spirit is so alive ‒ she draws people to her, she fascinates people. It’s one of the most challenging roles I’ve ever played, and for me, that’s a big draw. This is a really exciting moment for me, because I trained on these classic roles and I’ve been waiting a very long time to actually play a part like this. I feel things are changing, and that this is very much a part of that change. I think anything goes now, in a way, and it’s up to us now to try anything we want to. There’s no limit.
I’ve realised that you don’t have social media ‒ was that a conscious decision, or are you just not fussed?
NAB: I guess I thought that if I started on it, I’d become so fascinated by it that I’d never come off it! And then social media really blew up, and I’ve felt as if the train’s left the station and it’s too hard to get back on it now.
With social media you have to make it really personal to yourself, and I like the opportunity it gives people to show the world a different side to them, something you won’t necessarily get the chance to do through your work. I used to be quite intimidated by the idea that you were sharing something so personal with the public, but I now realise it’s just a great way to connect and share information about news, exciting projects…I might start exploring.
Nikki Amuka-Bird plays Ellida in ‘The Lady From The Sea’ (Photo by the Donmar Warehouse / Daniel Kennedy)
What’s been your favourite character so far?
NAB: Natalie Blake, from NW. That was an extraordinary experience for me, because the story was set in and around NW ‒ North West London: Willesden Green, Queen’s Park, areas where I grew up. Natalie was navigating so many cultural influences and pressures at once, without losing any particular side of her identity. It was a role I felt proud to play; women like Natalie can be seen as quite tough, and I understood that she had to be tough because she’d worked hard and she’d almost pushed herself too hard, after a lifetime of being told she has to be twice as good to be taken seriously. In the book, you get to see where that icy exterior came from. It’s the kind of storytelling that I hope makes people think twice before they judge a person.
Who’d be the dream people to act alongside?
NAB: Viola Davis, of course. Knowing of her own personal journey, and how she’s earned her spot and it’s never made her bitter… it’s remarkable. As well as Denzel Washington… I should’ve just been in Fences! [Davis and Washington starred in the film adaptation in 2016; Davis won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.]
Black British actors often go over to the States for more opportunities – will you be following suit?
NAB: I do understand the pull for going over there; I was signed to a Cinemax/HBO series called Quarry, and we filmed in New Orleans. What I loved about being there most was all the positive energy, it was amazing. And because the demographics are so different there, I think that’s reflected in the art, and I was very excited about the type of roles I was being offered. But I also felt excited to bring that energy back to England, and see how this positive mindset can be shared here as well. I love the UK, and I’d love to be a part of developing shows here and be a part of the growth here. But I also want to go to America and learn what they have to offer. Basically, I want the best of both worlds!
Nikki can be seen in The Lady from the Sea at the Donmar Warehouse from 12 October – 02 December, www.donmarwarehouse.com and in Hard Sun, coming soon to BBC One.
