MACBETH: Who can be wise, amazed, temperate and furious, loyal and neutral, in a moment?
BIANCA: No man.
By William Shakespeare and directed by Jude Christian OthelloMacbeth is a co-production between two incredible producing houses in the UK, HOME in Manchester and the Lyric Hammersmith in London.
Kezrena James plays Bianca..and the actress took some time out for a QuickChat
Theatre Credits include: The Little Matchgirl (Shakespeare’s Globe/Bristol Old Vic), Medea (Bristol Old Vic), The Borrowers, Clytemnestra (Sherman Theatre), Primetime, The Faith Machine (The Royal Court), From Morning To Midnight (The National Theatre), Macbeth, Comedy Of Errors, The Secret Garden (Chester Performs), The Winter’s Tale (Open Air Regent’s Park), Sleeping Beauty (Bristol Old Vic), I And The Village, Beast, Blown Apart, Rainy Season (Bristol Ferment), Arabian Nights (The Lowry).
Television credits include: Parch, Crash, Ordinary Lies 2, Being Human, Doctors and Tracy Beaker.
1. Tell us about your role in Othellomacbeth? I play Bianca (Casio’s lover) in Othello-who becomes a witch/something other in Macbeth; seeking justice for the wrongs done against her by Cassio/society.
Directed by Jude Christian, who most recently co-directed the sell-out, Royal Court production of My Mum’s a Twat with Vicky Featherstone, as well as the 2015 hit Lela & Co, also at the Royal Court. Jude has created an audacious condensed staging of two of William Shakespeare’s most brutal and poetic plays, exploring fear, jealousy, power and revenge. The two stories (of Othello and Macbeth) will be uniquely told from the point of view of the female characters, as Othellomacbeth sees the wronged women of Othello exacting their revenge on Macbeth in a society stained with toxic masculinity. In this dynamic and visceral production these two iconic plays will be merged together examining escalating cycles of violence; abuses of power and the role and nature of the “tragic hero”.
The show is still in Shakespeare’s original language/text – however, some characters will take over other characters lines and most of the male parts have been condensed, to focus more on the female characters and their stories within the two shows.
2. What do you like most about your character? I like that Bianca becomes a stronger woman in Macbeth and has other strong female characters who support her through her journey? OthelloMacbeth
3. What are your favourite Shakespeare plays and which character would you most like to play? Merchant of Venice and Romeo & Juliet (love to play Juliet)
4. Where do you call home? Cardiff, South Wales
5. Tell us about some of your earlier roles? Tv: Crash (bbc series). Theatre: The Faith Machine at The Royal Court (dir; Jamie Lloyd).
6. What advice would you give to someone wanting embark on an acting career? Love what you do and know your worth. Have a good support system around you (people you trust will be honest with you and keep you down to Earth). Find other things you love other than acting.
DETAILS: OthelloMacbeth is on at HOME in Manchester which runs until 29th September you can book tickets here and will open at the Lyric Hammersmith in London from 5th October and you can book tickets here. The Lyric Hammersmith show runs 05 Oct ‐ 03 Nov 2018
