We sat down for an exclusive interview with Quaz Degraft to discuss ‘In the Black’, a gripping dark comedy of an ambitious Black accountant fighting for a seat at the table in the high-stakes world of Wall Street.
This show runs from 5th-31st August at Underbelly (Daisy) for the Edinburgh Fringe. Tickets here.
How did your own journey from finance to performance shape Kofi’s internal conflict between ambition and authenticity?
As many children of immigrants know, there’s a kind of “code-switching” that happens when you enter corporate spaces. I remember preparing for my first internship at an accounting firm and practising not only what I would say, but how I would say it: fully enunciating every word, softening the relaxed speech I’d use with friends and family. Looking back, I think I even raised my voice an octave or two. Subconsciously, I was working to seem as non-threatening as possible. It’s all very problematic, but at the time, I believed it was what I needed to do to give myself the best shot. That balancing act of trying to make it without losing yourself is at the core of Kofi’s internal conflict.
What drew you to framing the corporate world through a darkly comedic lens rather than a purely dramatic one?
Honestly, it’s just where I naturally live as a writer. The work I’m most drawn to balances the light and the dark at the same time. To me, that tension is the human experience. Dark comedy felt like the most honest container for this story.
How does Kofi’s experience speak to the broader pressures of upward mobility, particularly for first-generation professionals?
For me personally, there’s an unspoken duty that comes with being the child of immigrants. My parents left Ghana and built a life here so that their kids could have a better one. I wanted to make sure that the sacrifice wasn’t in vain. There isn’t much of a safety net, which means a very small margin for error. Kofi understands that no one is coming to save him. That awareness is what pushes him down a path that tests exactly how far he’s willing to go to change his circumstances and his family’s.
In navigating themes of identity and belonging, how do you approach portraying the subtle compromises that come with success?
I tried to be as truthful as possible. I wasn’t interested in preaching or telling audiences how they should feel. I simply wanted to show that every action has a reaction. Some immediate, some felt own the road, some enormous and some barely perceptible. I wanted to trace the ripple effects of chasing success, for better and for worse in an honest way.
What role does Kofi’s relationship with his father play in shaping his decisions and sense of self?
It’s complicated, the way the most important relationships tend to be. Kofi wants to protect his father and provide for him, but he also desperately wants his approval. His father is stern and not always expressive, yet he represents home in the fullest sense of the word. Love, safety and family. What’s interesting is that as Kofi moves further into his journey, we find him reaching outward, seeking father figures in other people. It tells you everything about what he feels he’s missing in himself and life.
What questions do you hope audiences leave asking themselves about ambition, integrity and the cost of “making it”?
More than anything, I want them to put themselves in Kofi’s shoes. When he faces the decisions he faces, I genuinely want the audience to ask: What would I do? I don’t want to hand them an answer; I want them to sit with the discomfort of figuring it out for themselves. That uncertainty feels more honest to me than any comfortable takeaway.