Working class actors have long struggled to break into theatre – but who is to blame, asks Vanessa Thorpe.
When Irfan Shamji was growing up in Ladbroke Grove, west London, a career on stage seemed “a pretty outlandish idea”. His parents – a mother from Zambia and a father from India – had come to Britain together in 1996 and they did not go to the theatre. “I didn’t think it was a possibility for me. And then at school I realised I had a taste for it,” he remembers. The drama teacher at his comprehensive began to notice his interest and the decisive moment came when she put a simple question to him: Irfan, is this something you would like to do for a living?
“From the moment I said yes to her, it was a done deal,” the 24-year-old says... Keep reading on The Guardian
When Irfan Shamji was growing up in Ladbroke Grove, west London, a career on stage seemed “a pretty outlandish idea”. His parents – a mother from Zambia and a father from India – had come to Britain together in 1996 and they did not go to the theatre. “I didn’t think it was a possibility for me. And then at school I realised I had a taste for it,” he remembers. The drama teacher at his comprehensive began to notice his interest and the decisive moment came when she put a simple question to him: Irfan, is this something you would like to do for a living?
“From the moment I said yes to her, it was a done deal,” the 24-year-old says... Keep reading on The Guardian