His one-man show, ‘Misty’, had a sold-out run earlier this year. Now, Arinzé Kene has transferred his production to the West End; Nicole Vassell caught up with him to speak about ‘black’ plays and Been So Long with Michaela Coel
Arinzé Kene doesn’t want to answer any more questions about diversity.
It’s nothing personal, honest – it’s just that, like many black people working in creative industries, it’s a topic that is nearly impossible to avoid in every interview he takes part in. After watching his spellbinding play, Misty, during its original run at the Bush Theatre earlier this year, I’d had the sneaking suspicion that one of the aims of his play was to make sure that the question of whether his one-man, experimental delight is one that all black people feel is representative of their lives and experiences, doesn’t come his way again – and when I asked him whether this was the case, he confessed that this was exactly his plan.
‘There are different ways to have that conversation, and I like to have that conversation with my work,’ the actor and playwright began. ‘Of course, it is something that I think about – but I think that sometimes, if I put it in an interview, it just seems like I’m nagging.
‘The best way for me to do it means you have no choice but to see the entire picture. With Misty, that’s what I got to do – I got to take my time and have a proper look at this question, and show both sides of the coin.’
Arinzé Kene wrote, and stars in, Misty. (Photo by Bronwen Sharp)
In Misty, the questions about diversity and black art are nodded towards thusly: Kene plays a version of himself as a frustrated writer, also named Arinzé, who is creating a play about a London man who, after a late-night skirmish on the night bus, finds himself on the run from the police, with his life on the edge of turning for the worst.
It begs the question of what is an authentic ‘black play’ – whether a black person has to write a ‘black play’, focusing on class-based struggles familiar to many – or whether you can be a black playwright and write something that’s simply about love, or cakes, or riding your bike across the city with your hair blowing in the wind? It challenges the audience’s expectations of what a play from a black, Lagos-born, Hackney-bred writer, can look and feel like.
When watching the play, it’s impossible to separate the story from Kene himself – though it’s not quite an autobiographical story, the depth and passion of his performance lets you know, indubitably, that Misty is his baby. He wrote and starred in it, and he is the element keeping it alive – even if one day, the words find happen to find themselves in the mouth of another actor. Kene was acutely aware of how much of himself was put out on display with this production – as the first time he’s appearing in something he’s written, there’s a lot riding on how Misty goes down.
‘It’s an interesting one, because there is a part of me that actually doesn’t really care about the way that my work is received – because that gets in the way of the art, thinking too much about making agreeable work,’ he reasoned. ‘I try and get rid of that side of it, especially during the creative period. But at the same time, I do want it to do well.
‘I want it to land, I want people to get it, and to understand – not that they like it, but that they understand it. That was a big challenge. The stakes are always high, but this time, it was me, putting my own story on stage. I was very aware that not only are you judging the work, you might be judging me too.’
Happily for him, the judgements were very positive indeed: Misty’s run earlier this year drew in four-and-five star reviews from nearly all who saw it – we even called it ‘electric’. The former EastEnders actor has an enviable CV with other TV credits including Our Girl, Youngers and Crazyhead. A lot of the positive reactions went towards Kene’s strong singing voice, as he shows off some serious skills in original songs that, while give the play an extra element of soul, advance the story in important ways. I ask how he feels about these skillsets overlapping each other; since his time performing in bands during his teenage years, it’s been a long time coming.
‘I gave up music when I was 19 or so, because I just wanted to act,’ he said. With those two bands, things were cool, alright. But it’s hard man, London is hard to crack, in terms of making a breakthrough – there’s so many musicians around. I had a couple of breakthroughs on the acting side, so I just decided to go down that road.’
Arinzé Kene. (Photo by Bronwen Sharp)
However, since playing soul singer Sam Cooke in One Night in Miami back in 2016, music has found a way back into his professional creative life for good – the experience persuaded him to incorporate music into Misty, which he was developing at the time, and then he went on to score a role in Bob Dylan musical Girl From The North Country and upcoming Netflix film Been So Long, in which he stars opposite Michaela Coel. Billed as a modern musical romance, the film boasts a brilliant cast and is highly anticipated – and according to Kene, it was nothing less than a pleasure to make.
‘What made it dreamy was that I got to work with so many of my mates,’ he tells me of the filming process, which took place in the buzzing area of Camden, north London. ‘I’ve never done that before. Michaela Coel, I’ve known since we started acting; I met Ronke [Adekoluejo] when she was at RADA…’ Other friends name-checked include Joe Dempsie, Arsher Ali, Ashley ‘Bashy’ Thomas – and Sophia La Porta, with whom he had an interesting first encounter (‘She was at a party where I threw up!’). ‘I was a bit scared of how it was gonna look in the end, because the whole thing felt like jokes.’
It’s clear that acting is a true passion for him, and that he thinks deeply about the work he puts out – which makes Misty such a joy, as the layers of significance in each line run deep. And when it comes to inspirations for his work, it’s conversations that help spark the inspirational flame that can turn in bright lights like these:
‘You can learn from anyone in the world: someone told me this when I was very young, about speaking to people,’ he tells me. ‘They can teach you the meaning of life. It’s the best feeling in the world, talking and connecting with people, strangers. I get tingly. That, for me, is my biggest inspiration – and then there’s other, artistic stuff. My favourite musicians and singers and writers are people like Bob Marley, Fela Kuti, Stevie Wonder… I couldn’t go a day without listening to some of that, even if it’s just one verse.
‘I never wanna let go. I’ve let go of the flow a couple of times in my life. I went weeks and weeks without writing, and getting back in was hard. So now, I’m always looking for inspiration.’
Here’s hoping he never lets go again.
Misty is at Trafalgar Studios until 17th November 2018. For more information and to book tickets, visit http://www.atgtickets.com/venues/trafalgar-studios/
