Culture in Lockdown: Lucian Msamati – 'If ever there was a time to let ideas percolate, then this is it'
Actor Lucian Msamati talks to Fergus Morgan about the culture he has been enjoying in lockdown, from watching Netflix documentary The Last Dance about his sporting hero Michael Jordan to catching up on podcasts
Lucian Msamati has become a familiar face in recent years. Featured parts in high-profile TV series such as Game of Thrones and His Dark Materials, as well as a string of starring roles on stage, including as the Royal Shakespeare Company’s first black Iago in 2015 and Salieri to Adam Gillen’s Mozart in the National Theatre’s Amadeus a year later, have made the 44-year-old, British-born, Zimbabwe-raised actor a household name.
“It’s been up and down – probably more up than down, to be honest,” Msamati says of his life during lockdown. “I’ve spent it mostly with my children, so my co-parent and I have had some home-schooling to deal with, but I think we’ve done a pretty good job.”
He continues: “At the beginning, there was this pressure to do everything I have always been meaning to do. I have been trying to get back into writing, but pressure turns into inertia, which turns into frustration, and before I knew it, I was back in stress mode. It took me a few weeks to go: ‘Hang on, what am I racing for? If ever there was a time to let ideas percolate, then this is it.’ ”
TV
I’ve been watching Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You. I’m completely biased because I know Michaela – I’ve had the honour, privilege and delight of working with her – but I think it is a complete work of art.
It is extremely timely, too, with everything that has been going on. I was able to contribute in a very small way to the Black Lives Matter movement as part of a group of black artists working with the RSC. That was an incredible privilege, to contribute to the cause of the art that I love, and to the wave of social changes that are taking over us.
I’ve also been watching The Sopranos. I only ever caught little snippets of it. James Gandolfini – what a titan, what a performance.
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Documentary
I started watching the Netflix documentary The Last Dance, which is about Michael Jordan. It was a nice little trip down memory lane, back to the days of my youth when Michael Jordan was the biggest thing on planet Earth. He really was iconic. Even people who had no interest in sport knew who Michael Jordan was. Back in Zimbabwe, everyone would get the Michael Jordan haircut and all the Chicago Bulls paraphernalia, bootleg or otherwise.
Football
I’m a massive football fan, and I’ve been celebrating the victory of my beloved Liverpool. I’ve been a Liverpool fan since I was 10. You can divide African football fans of a certain generation into two camps – Liverpool or Manchester United – because the bulk of football on our television was English and they were the dominant teams at the time.
Not only did Liverpool play in my favourite colour – red – but their star man was John Barnes. Here was this titan-thighed magician who looked a bit like us, and wore number 10 and was kind of cool. That was that. My love affair with Liverpool began.
Podcasts
I’ve only recently caught up with the podcast revolution. I’ve been enjoying Jonathan Harden’s Honest Actors Podcast. He started it a few years ago, and all he does is chat honestly with other actors, many of whom I know, respect and admire. Listening to their lives and experiences is very interesting and entertaining. It’s a real celebration of storytellers and storytelling.
What theatre work have you been doing in lockdown?
I was in one of the new Talking Heads shorts on BBC Two. I leapt at the opportunity because it was a chance to contribute to the national cause. It had a really old school, back-of-the-van spirit, as well. No faff. No ego. It was all about coming together to tell a story, and I really appreciated that collaboration. The weirdest part of the whole process, though, was driving from south London to Elstree Studios and there being absolutely no traffic. That was as post-apocalyptic as it gets.
Two productions I was part of are going to be broadcast as well – Othello at the RSC on BBC Four and Amadeus at the National Theatre on YouTube. I don’t know if I will watch them myself. In the past, I’ve found I need to be in a darkened room, alone with a stiff drink, to watch myself on screen. It’s like an opening night, but you have no control over the outcome. It is a chance to appreciate the creativity of others, though, because you see things that you couldn’t see on stage.
With time, I have come to appreciate the size and effect of Amadeus more, but there were a couple of moments during rehearsals when I knew we had something special. I remember rehearsing and hearing Mozart’s Lacrimosa for the first time, looking over my shoulder and seeing this mass of creative humanity behind me – the orchestra, the opera singers, the actors. At that moment I thought: “Wow, okay, we’ve got something here.”
Othello was on BBC Four on July 12 and is available on BBC iPlayer for a month. Amadeus was broadcast on YouTube on July 16 and is available for a week
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