3 minute read
GET UP, STAND UP Young Brent actor with bright future
Get Up, Stand Up
Lockdown 2020 had some people baking banana bread and doing home workouts, 11-year-old Malachi was auditioning.
AMarvel fan with acting dreams, Malachi, had previously dabbled in modelling, but threw himself into the competitive world of theatre auditions. His first being none other than The Lion King.
Coming up against hundreds of children, Malachi got a call back to play Young Simba in the West End show. However, the young Cricklewood resident had also auditioned for a role in Get Up, Stand Up, the electrifying musical that details the life of iconic Jamaican artist Bob Marley.
Much to his surprise, Malachi bagged the role to play young Bob Marley, making his acting debut in the highly rated theatre show.
“I didn’t know I could do it until I got the part,” said Malachi, who says he used to be shy. “The first time I was on stage, I almost didn’t go on stage, now I don’t mind because it’s normal to me.”
Malachi’s confidence is evident; he beams as he speaks about his personal connection to Bob Marley. “Bob Marley is a big part of my life. My dad has always listened to his music, we’ve got paintings of him in our house and we’ve been to his exhibition. He is really inspirational and I like what he stands for which is peace.”
Malachi’s confidence not only comes from acting but from his supportive parents, who run a company teaching children about entrepreneurship. “Initially it was about building resilience and confidence, to learn how to bounce back and keep going”, said his mum, Chileshe Hall.
Fluent in Spanish, he is currently learning Mandarin and plans to improve his football and rugby skills whilst dreaming of playing Spiderman one day.
Get your tickets for Get Up, Stand Up www.thelyrictheatre.co.uk/tickets/get-up-stand-up-bobmarley-musical
Digi-Pals get cash boost to learn new skills
£250,000 in grants has been given out to local organisations to tackle health inequalities by Brent Health Matters (BHM) over recent months.
The Brent Irish Advisory Service (BIAS) received £19,435 to run its Digi-Pals project that included regular drop-in sessions at hubs in Cricklewood and Harlesden. “We ran around 300 one-to-one sessions with over 150 older people living in Brent throughout the year,” said Ellen Stafford from BIAS.
Margaret Carroll, 71, from Harlesden was a regular at the Clocher Court hub. She said, “It’s been wonderful. I now order my repeat prescriptions through my phone and I’m using online banking. I’m also using WhatsApp and FaceTime to speak to my sister in America and my five grandchildren in Ireland. It’s brilliant.”
Cllr Neil Nerva, Brent’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Adult Social Care, said: “BHM is all about helping to provide everyone with the opportunities they need to live a healthy life, so that no one is left behind or excluded.”
Health inequalities often come about because some residents find it harder to access or even know about services. “We recognised that a lot of people are excluded from the help they need simply because they aren’t great with technology,” explained Ellen.
“Lockdown highlighted that so much information and support is online and that not being good with phones and computers was a huge problem amongst Taking a joined up approach to tackling health inequalities, BHM works closely with Brent Council, NHS partners and the community.
