Eastbourne professional homecoming for Chioma Uma

SussexWorld

The epic anti-war musical Oh What a Lovely War will be a homecoming for Chioma Uma when it plays Eastbourne’s Devonshire Park Theatre from Tuesday, October 31-Saturday, November 4. From producers Blackeyed Theatre the revival marks the 60th anniversary of Joan Littlewood’s classic, a cornerstone of modern musical theatre and one of the greatest stage satires.

Transcript

00:00 Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspaper. Lovely this

00:06 afternoon to be speaking to Chiema Uma, who is heading back to Eastbourne. Now you're

00:12 touring with Overshoot of the Blue Boar, a play that's touring for its big 60th anniversary,

00:18 but the really interesting thing is you are heading back to Eastbourne to perform, which

00:22 is where you grew up. Eastbourne.

00:24 It's where it all started for you as a performer, was it?

00:27 It really is. It really is. And since I graduated, I've always wanted to be able to have a job

00:34 that takes me back there. So it's finally happened and I'm very ecstatic. I cannot wait.

00:38 Now you graduated in 2019, so this is your first return.

00:42 Yes, it is. It is. Yeah.

00:45 And have you ever been on that stage in Eastbourne before?

00:51 You know what? I don't think I have. I don't think I have. I think I've definitely seen

00:55 things there. And I think at one point, was there a show? Was there a show that I wasn't

01:01 actually officially in, but I was able to kind of help backstage, but to actually be

01:05 in a performance there, I haven't. And I've been in the Congress and the Winter Garden

01:10 more than the Deventer Park. So it's nice to kind of finally, finally be around the

01:14 floor.

01:15 Have you still got family in Eastbourne?

01:17 Oh, yeah. Yeah, they're all still there. It's going to be weird, but wonderful to be able

01:24 to have my parents go to their local theatre because they will follow me anywhere I am.

01:31 But it's just extra special that they just get to kind of see me where, you know, where

01:35 I grew up. So yeah, that's the most wonderful part.

01:37 And what about the parents who have clearly supported you throughout since getting you

01:42 a little toy keyboard at the age of three?

01:45 I know. Yes. I know. It's something that I always still laugh at because I feel like

01:56 the way that my career has come up in terms of my journey, I've always had music in my

02:03 head. So I feel like I would have ended up doing something musical anyway. I don't think

02:08 I would have avoided it even if I tried. But I think the fact that I started so young and

02:13 had the support of my parents to want to start that journey so young just proves that I think

02:19 there was no way I wasn't going to be playing something.

02:22 Fantastic. And you're on the road with a really fantastic show, aren't you? Which was, you'd

02:27 say, is a bit surreal, but it also deals with very, very serious things. How are you enjoying

02:33 it? Oh, what a lovely walk.

02:35 Yeah. I mean, of course, I'll say biased. It'll be biased because I'm in the show, but

02:40 I am loving all of the details that we've been able to put in, as well as finding the

02:46 contrast between how silly and how absurd it is to the really staggering, thought provoking

02:52 statistics and themes that we're drawing upon that unfortunately we're still seeing today.

02:59 And yeah, it just it's nice to be able to promote a show that kind of re-sparks sensitivity

03:10 of what war can be like. But yeah, it can be difficult sometimes, you know, because

03:17 you hear about the news and you hear about just even just various different events that

03:22 happen and unfold. You're thinking, gosh, this still happens. And this is a play that

03:27 is great for just what Joan Hathaway has done with it and the impact that it has. But you're

03:32 also thinking that this shouldn't feel so familiar.

03:34 It's a play that's never not going to be relevant, is it really?

03:40 Yeah, I think you're right, fortunately. But at least we can enjoy, we can really enjoy

03:46 the entertainment part of it because it really is a lot of fun. And from the feedback that

03:52 we've been getting from audiences, they've been loving every aspect of it. I mean, as

03:58 horrible as it can be, the statistics, but also the live music that we're all playing,

04:04 the acting, the movement, just everything that kind of makes this show happen. Everyone's

04:09 had rave reviews. So I can't wait for people to see it in Eastbourne and just get as many

04:14 people to see it as possible because it's a really fun show. It is.

04:17 Brilliant. We'll have a really, really happy return to Eastbourne and lovely to speak to

04:21 you. Thank you.

04:22 YouTube, so I'll see you soon.

04:24 - Thank you.

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