It took me eleven years to overcome stage fright –Ladi Emeruwa

Ladi Emeruwa is a London-based Nigerian actor who has the distinct honour of being the first Black man to play the popular character, Hamlet, created by the great playwright, William Shakespeare. Currently playing Hamlet in a world tour which began last year and will end next year, the tour berthed in Nigeria last month and OSEYIZA OOGBODO used the opportunity to speak with Ladi. How do you feel being a part of this Hamlet world tour? It’s an incredible opportunity for me. This is my first production with the organizers, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, and they have given me the chance to visit different countries of the world. On top of that, I’m back to my own country. It means the world to me. I really hope that, particularly this afternoon when there will be students coming for the show, they will be inspired by the fact that as a Nigerian, you can do this. What really got me interested in Shakespeare and theatre generally was when I saw in 2009 an actor called Adetomiwa Edun play Romeo at the Globe and I remember thinking that wow, this is another Nigerian like me playing the lead role in a performance at the Globe. That made me feel that I can definitely do this. As a Nigerian who is doing something positive internationally, how does that make you feel because in most places, our image is that of writing the so-called ‘Nigeria letters’? I think our image is highly more nuanced than that, but I think we do have that image of scamming. I think it does help promote another opinion about who we are and what we are. Were you involved in any stage play here in Nigeria before you left for England? I didn’t do any. Just a school play. So how did you achieve making acting your source of livelihood? When I went to England, the first year I was there I saw this play at the school I was. They did a pantomime, Aladdin and the Seven Dwarfs, in 1999, and I loved it. I said this is incredible. But it took me a while to build the confidence, to actually put myself on stage. But over the course of, I guess, 11 years, I finally built the courage to say yes, I can actually do this for a living. You trained as a lawyer. Yes, I went to university, studied law but decided I wanted to be an actor. Did you audition for this role or you were just selected? I auditioned. I actually found out about it by chance. In fact, I was here right at the MUSON Centre watching Kakadu: The Musical and I needed to get back to the UK to see my agent and talk about it. So I e-mailed the casting director at The Globe; I recorded myself doing a speech of one of Shakespeare’s plays and sent it to them. I was thinking this was not going to fly and the next thing was, “we will see you on Wednesday”. So I frantically had to learn a couple of speeches in the play, went in on a Wednesday and did it. They liked it and invited me again the following week to meet the other director because there is a co-director in the play. So I came in the next week, did it for him that Wednesday, and that evening they offered it to me. Hamlet is a very long play; is this production the full one? There are three versions of the play that exist. One version is about four and half hours long; one version is about two and half hours long, and another version is somewhere in the middle. There is the belief that there was a version in Shakespeare’s time that was used to tour countries around the world. That’s the two and half hours version. But there are few inconsistencies in that version; there are lots of wrong lines. So what we have done is essentially taking the of that play and taking the best from each one to make this, I would say, robust, dynamic and very clear play. Have you taken Hamlet to any country where there was a conflict, Kiev for instance and you felt agitated? When we went to Kiev, it was before they were in this level of conflict; it was the day before the election. The guy who is now president and the mayor were in the audience the day before they were elected. And it was very peaceful, very hopeful. It’s very sad to see the country descend into what it has. How was the experience in Sudan? Sudan, Venezuela and Somalia are places that are tough. Of course, there is a threat, but we were very well on top of things. The British Council, the Home Office; these people advise us very carefully, and if any country was into deep trouble, they would never put us there. Everywhere we have been, we have been incredibly welcomed, particularly those places people were afraid to come. They bent over more than backwards to try and make sure we had the best experience. How have you been keeping up your energy level with the trip? It’s a challenge, but luckily enough two of us are playing ‘Hamlet’. Normally, we alternate every show, but because we are in Nigeria, I’m doing it. But normally, we all alternate parts, we get days to rest. We do get time to recover. It’s a challenge because sometimes you do an 18-hour bus journey and the next day you have to perform. The travelling is brilliant; every two days we are on the road. But I think when you see things like this, the level of excitement, you see the students who sit six hours in a bus to come and see this play, there is no way you cannot be excited and energised. Have you said farewell to law? Yes, I think so. Have you had the chance to see your family since you came back? Very briefly; maybe two minutes.