Amber James

What is Children’s Children about?
It’s a series of short films that explore a question – how much of our past is in our present? How much of our own history do we carry? And when I mean ‘us’, I am referring to the black community. We have taken speeches, poems and verbatim interviews from 1851 to 2020.

What was the creative process like?
It started with an idea I had at 2am and I wrote an email to Richard Twyman, the artistic director of English Touring Theatre, with whom I had worked before. Luckily, he jumped on board and he got in contact with Black Apron Entertainment, a black-owned film and theatre production company. I was really keen to get as many creatives of colour as possible involved because I am so used to being the only one in the room. It was very important for me to have a black producer, cinematographer, actors and directors. Once we got started, it was filmed and completed within a month. It moved pretty quickly.

What was the most challenging part of the process?
The speed of it and not being able to organise in person. We gave ourselves a deadline and chose our location quite quickly. But we had to come together to start putting calls out for the actors through Zoom meetings and WhatsApp groups. Trying to make final decisions online can be frustrating because it’s easier to make big decisions in person, round the table.

How did you get into acting?
I have been keen on acting since school. My mum loves theatre, so she used to take me a lot. I remember going to see a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Macbeth with her years ago – it led me to want to become an actor. At school I always thought I would be a drama teacher but when I went to college, I changed my mind and decided I didn’t want to teach. So I started thinking about applying to drama schools. I trained at Guildhall for three years and have been acting since I left in 2015.

What was the most important thing you learnt during training?
I got in very young – I had just turned 18, which is rare as most people go to drama school after university. I was definitely a bit blindsided by everything and had impostor syndrome for most of the first year. I soaked up as much as I could and although it was very hard sometimes, I had a lot of fun. I grew up there – I was super-young when I joined, so I see Guildhall as the place I became an adult.

During my time at drama school, I learnt that authenticity is the irresistible thing about acting. You can have bells and whistles in your performances but if you just tell the truth, which is a simple thing but the hardest to achieve, it will get you a long way.

CV Amber James

Training: Acting at Guildhall School of Music and Drama (2012-15)
First professional role: Hero in Much Ado About Nothing at the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchuch (2016)
Agent: Nicholas Gall at Conway van Gelder Grant

Children’s Children, co-produced by ETT and Black Apron Entertainment, is free to view online. Watch the first episode here