Leading Light
With a twinkle in his eye, Omari Douglas illuminates us about his return to theatre in the West End revival of Constellations, his life-changing role in It’s a Sin and queer representation in the acting world
Some questions are easier to answer than others, as Omari Douglas discovers when he hops onto our video call wearing his beloved Spice Girls t-shirt and is asked to reveal his favourite member of the band. It’s like a gay Sophie’s Choice. “Shit,” he gasps, with a look of genuine panic on his face. “I think it is Mel B.” More of a Posh stan myself. “If it wasn’t Mel B, it would be Vicky B,” he concurs, adding that he recently tumbled down a rabbit hole trying to figure out what happened to Victoria’s second solo album: “[I didn’t know] Resentment, which is on Beyoncé’s B’Day album, she recorded it first. So, Beyoncé got a hand-me-down from Victoria Beckham – that’s mad!”
The official campaign to exhume VB’s buried music starts here.
Making his television debut as the irrepressible Roscoe Babatunde in Russell T Davies’ powerful Aids drama It’s a Sin (more on that in a moment), Omari has since returned to his first love, theatre, and when we speak, he is in the middle of rehearsals for the Donmar Warehouse’s West End revival of Constellations at the Vaudeville Theatre, just outside London’s Seven Dials.
Dazzling audiences during its debut run in 2012, Nick Payne’s funny, heart-breaking play whizzes through a string of ‘what ifs’ as it follows the relationship of a quantum physicist and beekeeper who make cute at a party. The latest iteration features an alternating cast – including Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who), Anna Maxwell Martin (Line of Duty) and Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids) – with Omari and co-star Russell Tovey shining bright as the show’s first gay pairing, respectively Manuel (formerly Marianne) and Roland.
“Every time I do something, I’m, like, this is the biggest challenge – but this really is,”
Omari insists. “It is huge on so many levels; in terms of the scope of it, everything that it covers and what is being demanded of me and Russell, mentally and physically… if there was a piece that I wanted to push me, then, bloody hell, this is the piece to do that.”
“My character [spoiler alert] goes through a big health crisis, and so there’s lots of research into that… and it’s very athletic, because the scenes are short and snappy and the transitions from scene to scene are so important; you literally go from having a conversation with Roland at a barbecue, and then the next minute you’re talking about the results you’ve had from a biopsy.”
The 27-year-old actor, from Wolverhampton, describes the part as a “gift”, and notes that only the teensiest tweaks were made (like to Omari’s character’s name) for this queer spin on the Michael Longhurst-directed story.
“When we read the script for the first time, we were surprised. We were, like, yeah, we really don’t need to change anything,” he recalls. “I wouldn’t say that it’s the gay version, locked, signed, sealed. There are so many other gay versions that there could be… people will be surprised when they see how easily a different lens on life just slots into the show.”
Full of praise for his on-stage partner Mr Tovey, Omari says they had no issues generating that snap, crackle, pop: “We get along really well. People are, like, ‘What do you do to try to create the chemistry and stuff?’ Sometimes you have to, because people don’t always go like that [snaps his fingers], gel that quickly, but we just get on, and it is so easy with him.
“If there was a piece that I wanted to push me, then, bloody hell, this is the piece”
“[We met] really briefly when I was filming It’s a Sin. Lydia [West, aka Jill] and Russell were at the RTSs [Royal Television Society Awards] or something for Years & Years… and Lyd was, like, ‘Come and meet us!’ so I met Russell on a night out, essentially.”
What did you both bond over? The Spice Girls, perhaps? “We’ve definitely spoken about Spice Girls,” he laughs. “Victoria Beckham sent me one of her t-shirts and I sent it over to Russell and he was, like, ‘Oh my fucking God!’ I think Spice Girls was one of the first things that we spoke about, and we actually said – [well], I was, like, ‘We have to be in Spiceworld 2. If they do Spiceworld 2, we need to find a way of getting in.’”
Shifting Omari’s attention from one of the most underrated cinematic gems of our time and its long-overdue sequel, I pick his brain about why queer stories are so much more impactful when queer people and performers tell them.
“When I first left drama school, my queerness was the thing I’d hide away when I was going into auditions, because — this crosses into a masculinity conversation as well, but the two go hand in hand, because how much of myself can I be in order to fit into this box you want me to fit in?” he begins. “To constantly feel like – also, not feel like, but be told that you’re not ‘right’, because you might not necessarily present yourself in a way that is, in certain people’s eyes, believable.”
He continues: “So, when the stories do come along that belong to those experiences, then of course we should be telling those stories. At least [for] now. I don’t think it’s a hard and fast rule that for ever and ever and ever it should only be those people playing those roles, but we’re in a place where our community has been undervalued and underrepresented.”
“It’s that double standard of, you know, a straight person – if you look at history, straight people playing queer roles, it’s all the applause, and it’s like, for goodness sake, we get shut out of that so much anyway.”
It is hard to imagine It’s a
Sin, broadcast on Channel 4 earlier this year, packing such an emotional punch (my tear ducts still haven’t recovered) if a straight ensemble had been charged with bringing one of the darkest chapters of our history back into the light.
The project was life-changing for Omari, professionally and personally speaking, as he opens up about losing his best friend soon after landing the role.
“Unfortunately, we lost her last year, and I was sat with her when I got the phone call to say that I’d got It’s a Sin. I was with her and one of my other friends, [and] she never got to see it. But I’m now back living with her partner,” he confides. “There’s been this huge full circle that has made the show quite special and bittersweet in a way.”
He goes on: “Playing Roscoe taught me so much about my own history, but it also taught me so much about myself; not only me stepping into those shoes, but me watching the show and seeing myself in those shoes and understanding myself and also other people’s experiences.
“I’ve made friends for life as well… all those guys on the show, David [Carlyle], Lyd, Cal [Scott Howells], Olly [Alexander] and Nat [Curtis], we’re just like that [crosses his fingers].”
Sadly, there aren’t any plans to permanently (and painfully) mark their friendship with
‘La!’ tattoos. “There will never be a day that a needle touches my skin,” Omari exclaims. “Perhaps a transferable.”
I mention that I watched the series for a second time with my mum in tow, and how it brought us closer together; in fact, after that rimming scene, I’m now permitted to keep my douche in the bathroom cabinet (I’ve told her no sharing, though).
“I watched it with my mum as well,” he chuckles. “I was holding my breath, this sex scene is coming of me… it was as awkward as it can feel watching [any] sex scene with your
“When I first left drama school, my queerness was the thing I’d hide away when going to auditions”
parents, but yeah, once I got past that hurdle, it was, like, it’s fine, done, great.
“It has opened a lot of generations’ eyes.
I’ve had conversations with my family… they said they felt almost bad for, kind of, living through that era but not, sort of, knowing what was going on… it’s been an education for so many different people.”
One particular response to It’s a Sin has stayed with Omari: “There was this one guy who said he’d reconnected with his [gay] uncle who was estranged from his family. He posted these pictures in this [Twitter] thread about his uncle, who was dressed quite similar to Roscoe; he had dreadlocks and was really cool. He watched the show and then got in touch with the uncle again.”
Omari would “abso-frickin’-lutely” like to work with Russell T Davies again, too. “I’m probably underplaying it, but I feel like he invested in us all,” he smiles. “It’s not just a showrunner/writer/producer [going], ‘I did this thing with you, now goodbye.’ He said to us, ‘You won’t be able to get away from me. I’m here, I’m part of your life, I’m gonna support you in your career and everything you do.’ What an amazing thing to have. It feels like having a new family member or mentor.”
Conversation then turns to the fallout from the Euro 2020 final; our interview takes place amid a flurry of headlines about the racist abuse being volleyed at England’s toptier Black players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, and Boris Johnson and Priti Patel’s (unconvincing) outrage.
“Their response has flabbergasted me,” he says. “I’m just echoing what other people have said and articulated already, because we’ve seen it in the press, but when I saw them condemning [the abuse], my first response was, get lost… No one was surprised that this happened. This isn’t anything new for these people. To be honest, it’s like, welcome to the everyday life of being Black.
“For people who aren’t attuned to the injustices that are part of our society, or people who choose to ignore them, or don’t want to admit that they exist, [it’s like], oh, these things happen? Then all of a sudden, this story will leave the headlines and they’ll just feel it’s back to normal again and it’s, like, no, this stuff happens every frickin’ day.”
Before wrapping up, I put Omari on the spot one last time. “What’s my fave Spice Girls song?” he repeats. “Ooh, Say You’ll Be There. Definitely.”
Well, one thing’s for sure, with his star on the rise, Omari has come a long way from being a Wannabe.
Constellations is currently running at the Vaudeville Theatre. For tickets, visit nimaxtheatres.com