The Olivier Award-winning actress, composer and now, playwright, tells us about her exciting, new projects – from the stage, to the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series
It’s a great time to be Sheila Atim.
In 2018, the Uganda-born, Essex-raised actress scooped the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for her role in Bob Dylan-composed musical Girl From The North Country. (Hot tip: look up her performance of ‘Tight Connection to My Heart’ for guaranteed goosebumps.)
However, scooping herself one of the biggest awards in British theatre doesn’t mean that it’s time to slow down; instead, Sheila Atim’s creative pursuits have continued to grow and grow. At the start of the year, she was announced to have a role in the currently untitled Game of Thrones prequel, set to hit screens in 2020. Though not much is known about what the show as of yet, seeing as its predecessor stands as the most popular programme in history, the casting is no small feat.
Having modelled as a teenager, and with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical science also to her name, Atim’s talents are seemingly limitless. This August, she’s trying her hand at something new; her first written play, Anguis. Set in a broadcast recording studio, it shows Egyptian historical figure Cleopatra and contemporary virologist, Kate, recording a podcast episode that explored alternatives to popular truth. With the common myth telling that Cleopatra ‘died by asp’, the two women explore her real story – and before long, Kate’s own past comes into question.
We caught up with her ahead of her play’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival debut, to hear about her impressive journey so far – we’ve no doubt the only way is up…
How has your life changed since winning the Olivier Award? Has it changed?
Sheila Atim: It’s more or less the same, to be honest. Obviously the Olivier generates a heightened awareness of you in the sense that people are aware of me in a way they probably weren’t before. I just have to get on with what I’m doing. I still have to audition for things, I still have to do the same work I had to do before… it’s a really lovely thing to have, and it was a lovely moment receiving it, and it was a magical evening, but it’s still business as usual. So yeah- I suppose I just look at it as a celebration of work I did at a particular time, and then used that to propel me forward.
Let’s talk Game of Thrones – you’ve got a part in the upcoming prequel series, which sounds so exciting. What does it feel like, knowing you’re going to be a part of something completely massive?
Sheila Atim: It’s going to be very exciting; it comes with a myriad of emotions. It’s exciting, slightly daunting in some ways, because it is potentially going to be something really big. And also, you so just want people- the way in which Game of Thrones affected the people watched it, and the industry, and the way we watch TV- people actually got together to watch this show. It was a show that really created community. You so hope you’re able to continue that, and if it goes to series, it will be the same in that sense. There’s hope it will continue what Game of Thrones started.
If the show becomes as big as its original, you might be thrown into the world of celebrity, with paparazzi following your every move. Have you thought about that yet?
Sheila Atim: I think about it all the time. To be honest, I’m pretty boring in my private life! Even before the Game of Thrones stuff, I’ve had a couple of interviews where I’ve been asked to talk on personal things, and there’s not really any merit in going into that stuff for me. Because I’m not really doing anything that’s more interesting than any other person, living their everyday life. It’s not reason I’d be having the interview in the first place. The reason would be for the work, I’d hope, and because people might be interested in what I’m doing in a creative capacity. It’s just about trying really hard to keep hold of that, irrespective of the eyes on you, or whether people are trying to find out things that are more personal. But it is a thing you think about, because you think: ‘Well, how much control will I get to have over that side of my life; aspects of my life that I want to keep sacred – are they now for everyone?’ And I guess that’s a balance, right? You become more recognisable, so you don’t have as much control. But at the same time, it is still my life and I’ll be making a conscious effort to guard it… you just have to see how it pans out.
You’re about to debut your first written show, Anguis. How did it come about?
Sheila Atim: I spoke to a producer, who said there was a slot at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and would I like to do something for it? And at that point, it just had to be something creative that lasted an hour – not necessarily a play. We thought it was gonna be music, but then as conversations developed, I realised it had to be a play. And that was it!
What attracted you to the story of Cleopatra?
Sheila Atim: When we were talking about what I’d do, I was thinking I’d quite like to explore a historical character. But it was very vague at the start; I didn’t know who it could be. I started researching people who’d be vaguely interesting to cover, and Cleopatra popped up very early. I thought her story was cool, and worth exploring. A lot of the content in the play has come to be, completely by accident. It’s one of those things where you have a starting point, and the more you start to interrogate things, you pull out a whole new thread of ideas that you didn’t even know was buried in there. I didn’t know I had so many thoughts!
For someone who has so many talents [Sheila also plays multiple musical instruments], how do you decide where you want to take your next creative steps?
Sheila Atim: Well, as is evidenced by this project, this came completely out of the blue. If you’d asked me at the beginning of February that I’d be taking a play that’s written by me, alone, to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I wouldn’t have believed you. A lot of my adult life has been that; working hard and being ambitious, but also allowing opportunities to come my way and being open to them, saying yes to them if they’re right. Taking risks, and taking chances. Something always pops up. After Edinburgh, I’d love to do some more music. There are a few songs in this show as well, so it’s been nice to tap into that. I never really know, and that’s part of the nature of creative industries. Sometimes things take a while, and at others you’re making a film in a moment. You have to be ready for anything.
And finally, as black women, hair and the politics of it in different spaces is often a topic not far from many of our minds. As a black woman with short, natural hair, what’s been your experience?
Sheila Atim: In terms of my career, I resist [having my hair different] as much as possible – at least, I resist getting a hair texture that isn’t matched to mine, unless it’s necessary and specific to the character. I think it’s good to resist it for as long as possible, because then people come to know you as you are. If I wear a long straight wig in a film I do in the future, as a one-off, then that’s fine – people won’t think of me as synonymous with long, straight hair – but if I start off that way, it’s much harder to remove it from people’s minds. It’s not saying that I’m not up for experimentation, or changing look for the work. But they know what they’re dealing with from the off, and not always trying to push me back into what they believe they know. I think that’s important.
Sheila Atim brings her debut play, Anguis, to the Gilded Balloon, Dining Room as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 31st July to 26th August (excluding 12th) at 3.00pm. Tickets available at edfringe.com
