‘I’m rewriting the script’
Stage director and National Lottery Award nominee Moji Elufowoju is inspiring a new generation of black artists
Thanks to The National Lottery we’re sharing the arts with a global audience.
Has any Hollywood story. But actress and theatre director Moji Elufowoju has always refused to follow the script.
Now 56, she swapped a career as a paralegal to study drama in her forties before founding Sheffield-based Utopia Theatre Company in 2012.
And as a British-born, Nigerian-raised performer, Moji says she had to battle discrimination in an industry where ethnic minorities have struggled for opportunities. She broke through after “continually banging my head against a brick wall and refusing to take no for an answer”. She is now determined to inspire a new generation of black artists. Performing
“There’s a white middle-class club in British theatre and it can make the industry inaccessible to others – whether that’s performing, playwriting or simply being in the audience,” says Moji.
“You can feel invisible, and I know a lot of black creatives with mental health issues as a result.
“Utopia Theatre is all about giving diverse people a voice. We showcase African culture and traditions, through classic plays and new material.”
Last month, Utopia
Theatre launched the
Creative Hub, a free six-month programme of virtual workshops to combat the devastating effects of lockdown on the profession.
More than 40 African theatre professionals are offering free online masterclasses to people of African origin aged
16 and older, with performances streamed online.
Thanks to players of The National Lottery, around £30million a week is funding good causes like Utopia Theatre, and Moji has been nominated for a National Lottery Award for her work on the Creative Hub.
“The nomination makes all my hard work worthwhile,” she says. “The Creative Hub ensures black artists continue to have income and remain visible. Thanks to National Lottery players we’re sharing the arts with a growing global audience, and words can’t convey the positive impact of this.”