3 minute read
demand due to COVID
due to come out at the end of this year on Netflix. How did you land the role, and what drew you to it?
AA: Well, I guess I landed the role, like you do. I went up for it; I learnt my words, and they liked it. It was a funny one, because I was filming ‘Silent Witness’ at the time. This is what always happens: you’re doing one job, and then you’re asked if you can go and audition for something else. We were filming a plane crash, and were on location, with debris everywhere. It was a really complicated set-up, and there was no way I couldn’t be there that day. My character had to be there; they were not going to recreate the set just for my character. There was, however, a lovely director who put all my scenes to the top of the day. We shot all my stuff, and somebody drove me to central London for my audition. The casting director kindly waited till the end of the day to enable me to audition.
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The reason I like the part is because of my character, Lady Danbury. She runs the social world. She is a friend of the Queen; she’s of high standing, and is probably in the best position a woman in that era could be. She’s widowed, so there’s no husband telling her what to do, plus she’s got a ton of cash and is very high up in society. I had great fun with Lady Danbury; she’s stylish, she has a top hat and fabulous clothes. She can sniff out anyone who is a bully or arrogant, and she can sniff out smart young girls who need encouragement. She is great fun to play. But there is also a tenderness to her, and a sadness about her past, and we get to see some of that.
The least rewarding bit of playing Lady Danbury, for me, was probably spending hours in wigs. Getting the wig caps, pins and all sorts in place wasn’t the most exciting. Apart from that, it’s been a real treat to play her. You don’t normally see people who look like me in historical costumes and drama, but the show is a co-production between Netflix and Shondaland (Shonda Rhimes). The series, Bridgerton, is based on a number of novels by Julia Quinn, which are all about the Bridgerton family. I hope it will be a real page-turner, in terms of TV dramas.
ADF: Oooh, now you’ve made me even more eager to watch the series in December. OK, I always love to throw in a fun question during my interviews, so here goes: Which artists are currently on rotation in your playlist?
AA: I don’t have a playlist, because I am from the cassette generation, but I do know what I’ve been listening to recently: Mary McCabe’s first album. I’ve also been listening to Snarky Puppy - they are a band of amazing jazz musicians. Their keyboard player (from the era when they first started, which is the era I really liked) is Cory Henry. He was the keyboard player from the Brooklyn Tabernacle. When I was working in Brooklyn (touring with the Royal Shakespeare Company for African Julius Caesar) I went to the Brooklyn Tabernacle because of the music. Another guy I am currently listening to is Lewis Taylor; he is a North London White boy, who sounds like Marvin Gaye. He was around in the 90s; his stuff is soulful, crazy and fantastic. I’ve been listening to them a lot, partly because I am directing now, and want to use their music in my show.
ADF: So what’s next for Adjoa Andoh?
AA: I am about to direct two shows - a series of monologues that are going to be filmed in a theatre and then put online. They are based on Greek heroines. Fifteen female writers have taken 15 Greek heroines and written monologues for 15 actresses, and I am directing six of them. I am also pitching for two movies: one that I am writing the screenplay for and producing, and the other that I will be producing. They are both about extraordinary Black women.
