Author: faridehdidehvar

I was born in 1998, in Mashhad, Iran and I received my Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. During my undergraduate studies, I joined, and later became a member of the central board of, a student-run theatre organization, where I trained to write, act and direct. it was in this society where I wrote and directed my first plays, and decided to choose the field of theatre and performance for my future studies. I completed my MA in Performance Making at Goldsmiths, University of London with a 1st class honours degree. my practice revolves around the Middle East, focusing on the space and scenography.

HIGHLIGHT: Interview with Michael Duke from Get Up Stand Up!

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The 4-time Olivier Awards nominee, Get Up Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical has been running since October 2021 at Lyric Theatre in the heart of the West End. Now this critically acclaimed musical, which has won the hearts of hundreds of people in London, is playing with Michael Duke, taking over Bob Marley’s role from Arinzé Kene.

Michael, who is a British-Jamaican actor and writer, started his career 20 years ago by playing Young Simba in The Lion King. Some of his West End appearances include Beautiful: The Carol King Musical, Thriller Live, and The Rat Pack LIVE!

We had the chance to have a chat with Michael on the glamorous stage of Lyric Theatre and ask him about performing the role of a cultural icon.

So, you are British-Jamaican and in another interview, you mentioned that you grew up listening to Bob Marley’s Songs. Now, every actor’s dream is to play the role of their childhood legend, but my question is, what part of playing such an iconic role did you find the most challenging?

I think for any person that exists you really want to honour their life in a very honest way, because when it is a made-up character, you can make up a lot of things about the kind of person they are, their experiences, and all the information about them. But when it’s a real person you have to honour the truth and the essence of them. So, I guess that was probably the most challenging thing: making sure that that was there. But I was lucky enough to speak to some people who knew him and be able to get that personal perspective which helped a lot.

What aspects of Bob Marley’s character did you find closest to yours?

I think probably that he’s got a tunnel vision. I think he had a goal in his life, and he went for it, and I connect with that a lot. I mean, it has its good and bad points because you can become so tunnel-visioned that you forget everything else around you, and I can relate to that.

Are there any facts about Bob Marley’s character or life which you came across during your research process, that you think might be less know to people?

There is a lot! I think a lot of people don’t know, for instance, that when he met Rita, she already had a child whom he adopted when they got together. That is something that I learnt that I don’t think is the common knowledge.

Bob Marley once told a journalist that if they wanted to get to know him, they must play football against him and the Wailers. Now if you were to play football against him, is there any questions that you would like to ask him?

I think if it was in the present day, I would love to know so much about his perspective about the conditions that we live in. Because people assume what Bob believed in and they don’t really know him, because all they have is his music. So, I’d probably ask about how he sees the political issues that we’re facing now.

Bob Marley was a great supporter and believer of Pan-Africanism. Do you think Get Up, Stand Up in itself promotes and manifests Pan-Africanism, and if so, in what way(s)?

Yeah. It speaks of the connections to Africa at many points in the show and it does touch on the diaspora of Africanism, the Caribbeans in the UK, and that sort of thing. There is an important speech in the second act of the show that speaks a lot about the pride and the journey of Africans.

Given that each actor approaches their role differently, even if it’s the same role in the same production, and even if it is a real-life character, how do you think your Bob Marley is different from Arinzé Kene’s?

I think my process was very different. When they were rehearsing the show, seven or eight weeks, most of my time was spent sat down watching. So, a lot of my process was very introspective. I worked closely with our associate director where we spoke about the spirituality and the history, meaning, and message of not only this show, but also the Pan-Africanism, and the struggle and celebration of Jamaicans. So, for me, most of my work was sitting down and talking whereas most of the times the rehearsals are done standing up and doing the scenes.

REVIEW: Favour

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

A brave choice of topic, a well-presented story, with some brilliant acting.

“Do you know what that’s like not knowing whether your child is going to make it?”

Favour revolves around three generations of a Muslim family living in London: a daughter (Leila, played by Ashna Rabheru), a mother (Aleena, played by Avita Jay), and a grandmother (Noor, played by Ren Brindle). The story begins when Aleena, is released from prison and comes back to her mother and daughter. Nonetheless, her high hopes for a fresh start with her daughter are crashed by unexpected events and misjudgements.

Prior to the start of the show, when reading the synopsis of the play, the first thing that attracted my attention was the subject of it. Women with lived experience of the Criminal Justice System. The combination of this topic with the themes of religion, patriarchy, and mental health, I think, is quite sensitive to navigate around. Choosing this topic, in my opinion, requires so much bravery and courage. The story was developed well, with plot twists that were smartly placed, and the proper suspense and foreshadowing. However, towards the end of the play, when I was enjoying watching the characters growing into humans, the story ended and left me wanting for more. After an argument, suddenly characters decided to listen to each other, came to their senses, accepted their mistakes, and settled on an agreement that wouldn’t harm anyone. A happy ending that was a bit of a cop-out-choice.

The show itself had a relatively well-paced tempo for the most parts, to which a subtle and consistent sense of humour contributed a lot. You would burst into laughter one minute and be hit by a harsh truth the next (or sometimes even at the same time!). Nevertheless, even though I saw some brilliant acting, I believe there was still room for more depth in the portrayal and more personalised and unique traits (for example, the daughter of the family, Leila, who suffers from anxiety, PTSD, and panic disorder, does not show traces of them in her behaviour). To put it another way, although the story was clearly and perfectly told through the dialogues that took place between the characters, I also would like it to be “shown” to me through acting.

In terms of the visuals, the set of Favour was quite self-explanatory. Everything was ready for the audience to take in and digest, to an extent that it could tell the story on its own, if you looked closely: the pictures hanging on the wall, giving you a background of the family, and the biggest of them telling you which members are the most favoured ones. Islamic prayers and The Quran verses all over the house, suggesting a religious household, and the not-too-expensive furniture giving hints to the family’s income rate. However, it did not leave any room for the audience’s imagination.

Last but not least,  it was a neatly-directed drama, with a pinch of comedy, which had a lot to say, and yet, there was more potential to it to be fulfilled.