Adelayo Adedayo is currently rehearsing for her stage debut in the London première of The Dead Wait at the Park Theatre.
Adelayo trained at the Identity School of Acting and has gone on to have a successful film and television career. She is currently starring as Viva in the second series of Some Girls on BBC3. She has also appeared in: M.I. High, Skins and Meet The Bandais. Her film work includes: Gone Too Far (which premieres at this year's London Film Festival), Sket and Family Legacy.
The Dead Wait will open at the Park Theatre early next month, running until December. The play is based, in part, on Paul Herzberg’s experiences of serving as a conscript during the time of the Angolan war and the remarkable events connected to another soldier. It was shortlisted for the Verity Bargate Award, and on its UK première at The Royal Exchange received three Manchester Evening News Award nominations.
I recently spoke to Adelayo during a break from rehearsals about what it’s like working so closely with the playwright, if she has any first night nerves and how the experience compares to her work on screen...
The Dead Wait marks your stage debut. What was it that attracted you to this particular role and show?
It’s a play about the Angolan war and everything that happened at that time. But within that, and what really makes the play, is the relationships. It’s a play about the way people behave towards each other when they are in certain situations. It’s a very moving and touching piece and straight away I really liked it for that reason. And although Lily, who I play, is the only woman in the play alongside three men she very much holds her own. When she comes into the story she arrives almost like ‘here I am, this is my story and we’re going to do it my way’ which I really love.
