Latest news with #FaithOmole
Daily Mail
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Orange Is The New Black's Samira Wiley is a revelation as a lovelorn New York seamstress, putting all her passion into lacy lingerie, in Lynn Nottage's exquisite Intimate Apparel
Intimate Apparel (Donmar Warehouse) Verdict: Tailored to perfection Rating: Lynn Nottage's play was inspired by a faded photograph of her great-grandmother, a seamstress who came from Barbados to New York, aged just 18. That she married her penpal — a labourer on the Panama Canal — is all Nottage knew of her. Her play, set in Manhattan in 1905, reimagines her great grandma as plain, meek, unmarried Esther, 35. For 17 years she has been sewing undergarments for the wedding trousseaus of rich, white women and for her friend, Mayme, a vivacious, piano-playing black prostitute (Faith Omole), wishing they were for herself. A compelling, quivering Samira Wiley (star of Netflix 's Orange Is The New Black) suggests a woman as delicate — yet as robust — as the lace she works with. Esther stitches her earnings into her bed quilt and dreams of one day opening her own beauty parlour. Ingeniously set in various bedrooms, the focus of this intricately woven piece is tight, but its breadth wide, as Nottage expertly unpicks ideas about intimacy, class and race. Esther is not allowed through the front door of bored Mrs Van Buren's home and yet she is welcomed into her boudoir — and her confidence. She longs for love. But in the meantime she pours her thwarted sensuality into her corsets, her passion for sumptuous silks shared by gentle Romanian draper, Mr Marks (Alex Waldmann). As they trace their fingers lingeringly over the fabrics, there is no doubt they are imagining it were the other's flesh. They are clearly made for one another — but Marks, an Orthodox Jew, is engaged to a woman he has never met. When illiterate Esther starts a correspondence with one of the construction workers in Panama, Mrs Van B answers the letters for her, often as Esther laces her basque. When Gorgeous George (Kadiff Kirwan) arrives in New York to marry her, he is a very different man from the sweet penpal. Think Cyrano. Esther's dreams unravel. An exceptional cast make these richly textured characters wholly believable. This is high couture drama, tailored to perfection in Lynette Linton's seamless staging. Unmissable.
Times
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Actress and playwright Faith Omole's hidden London
This time last year, the Alfred Fagon award-winning writer and actress Faith Omole was celebrating a milestone: the debut of her first play at the Bush Theatre. 'It was such a full-circle moment,' she reflects. 'I've loved that theatre for a long time, and I'm so incredibly proud I had my production debut in that space.' Omole, a British-Nigerian creative powerhouse who trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, is no stranger to London's most iconic stages. Her acting credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream at Shakespeare's Globe, An Ideal Husband in the West End and Standing at the Sky's Edge at the National Theatre, which earned her an Olivier nomination. But beyond performance, she feels most comfortable in the wings. 'I wrote my first play in a quiet corner of the Globe, in between rehearsals and shows, and you can often find me tucked away at the National,' she says. Omole, based in southeast London, is now adapting a musical version of Alexander McCall Smith's prize-winning novel The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. • My Father's Fable review — Faith Omole's family saga brims with wit I've lived in north London, east and west for a bit, but southeast London is home for me. It's the best vibe. After that, anywhere along the South Bank. I've worked at the Globe and the National and I always get so happy when I finish a show in the evening, then make my way home along the river to get to a station. The South Bank's also where I started writing. Much like many other writers, you'll find me three coffees and a traybake down, trying to finish a scene. Something about that area makes me feel hopeful and excited. When you get off at your stop on the Tube — move. Do not amble. You pick an exit and you head for it. You weave in and out of the people, and you walk fast or you may well get stuck down there. And always have your contactless card ready, because someone is probably late for work and you will feel their wrath. I started rock climbing last year and my husband and I go as often as we can. Substation in Brixton is my favourite. I'm not even getting better, I just love to go. I'd definitely recommend [the Indian restaurant] Ganapati in Peckham, it's really tasty. Even thinking about it has me wanting to head there right now. Finally, check out The Bookshop on the Heath in Blackheath. It's so nice in there and has a great mixture of old and new books. • Read more London Loves stories I would spend a day with Malorie Blackman in the early 2000s. Her books had a major impact on me as a young girl. I finished Noughts & Crosses at 3am, then went to school the next day and forced my friends to read it too. I'd love to go for coffee with Malorie in those early days, as she was creating her book. I'm obsessed with Raye right now. She is incredible. Her voice is crazy and the songs are just too good. Her journey in her industry inspires me as a writer and actor. There's a massive community of artists here and they inspire me all the time. I think it's great to have so much access to new writing in London, [and] really important that we celebrate great and brave work in theatre. It's equally important we give young people access. So many shows changed my life and gave me the tools to understand emotional and societal complexities. I hope we can continue to champion the arts so that young people in schools can experience that too. I want the buses to go back to being 70p for adults — what a time. I want all public transport to be cheaper to be honest. Although because of the prices, I do walk a lot more to get around London … silver linings. I'd start the day with hot yoga, a run or some climbing. Then I'd meet up with friends for brunch and have a really good coffee and a catch-up. One of my best friends and I often have a book day: we head to a bookstore — probably the big Waterstones in Green Park — and stay in there for ages to read all the blurbs of the newly released fiction. Then we buy a book or two … or three. After that, I'd head to the cinema (and watch Ryan Coogler's Sinners again, because wow) or the theatre with my husband. If not that, we'd find a restaurant we haven't been to yet. The most recent experience that comes to mind is watching the Euro 2024 final at a pub in Balham with family and friends. I really thought it was coming home. Also, the energy when England scored — electric. Everyone hugging strangers, jumping up and down and dropping drinks all over the place. • Evita on the Palladium balcony — and theatre's eight greatest wow moments So many coffee chains. And wi-fi on the tube. My hope in general is that we'll find a way to be less taken up with social media — it's overstimulating. There's a beautiful number of different cultures in London. I love being able to tell stories that acknowledge and/or celebrate that. Similarly, it's a buzzing city full of lots of people. Character nuance is found when you interact with that and take an interest in different individuals. It is the greatest honour to perform on stages on which people who have inspired me have performed. There are many full-circle moments. I can still remember sitting in the audience of the National at 15 and watching Fiona Shaw in Mother Courage and thinking, 'I want to do that.' And then watching Oedipus with my drama class and thinking, 'Oh wow, that's how you tell stories.' Likewise with writing — watching my play My Father's Fable open at the Bush was surreal. I've loved that theatre for a long time. I'd like to think I never take a performance or a writing commission for granted. Broadway. Omole is rehearsing Intimate Apparel at the Donmar Warehouse, running Jun 20-Aug 9. Angel, a TV series she wrote with her husband, Paul Syrstad, and her brother Kenneth, will be released this summer
