ADJOA ANDOH... but you know her as Lady Danbury Adjoa Andoh, was born in Bristol, England. She is a very successful actress, working in British film, television, stage, and radio. She is known on the UK stage for lead roles at the RSC, the National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre, and the Almeida Theatre, however recently she became a global celebrity playing the role of Lady Danbury in Bridgerton the hit Netflix series. How did you start your career as an actor? I was in a black women’s group in Bristol and when I left my law degree, Deb’bora John Wilson from the San Francisco mime group invited me to take classes with her. In April 1984, having auditioned for a play of hers about five black women called Where do I go from here, I came up to London. The show was at the Drill Hall, Oval House Theatre and Acton Community Centre. I thought I’d be in London for two months, but I moved to Brixton and never left. What reaction did you get when you told your parents you wanted to become an actor? I made my dad cry. I left my law degree two years in. “Just finish it”, he said. He’s still waiting for me to finish it. My mum was excited. What medium do you enjoy the best… live theatre, television, or the movies? They all have different demands and different pressures. As long as the material is good, I ‘m happy working in any of them. On stage you have more control, and no one can edit your performance, but if you get in a mess, you can’t ask for another take. What have been your most satisfying role/s so far? Glory, in Glory for Temba Theatre Company in 1989. Brenda Mazibuko, in Invictus for Clint Eastwood’s Malpaso Production Company. Richard in Richard ll at the Globe, our own production, the first all-woman of colour Shakespeare in the UK. Was there a moment when you realized you could actually make a living from acting? Yes. When I got my first equity contract in 1985 from Theatre Centre, Theatre Company. Do you think the move towards diversity over the past few years in the industry has made a difference to you as a person of African heritage? I’ve been a professional actor for 37 years and I have been fortunate enough to have only been out of work for six months. The difference is in the freedom and power to have more impactful conversations about exclusion and inclusion. Not just on stage or in front of the camera, but in the rooms where decisions are made. In the history that is taught and in the stories that are told. It’s shameful that it took the filmed murder of a black man, to make institutions pay attention.
32 BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2021
