You will be starring in Dan McCabe’s ‘The Purists’ at the Kiln Theatre, London from 14th November. Tell us all about the show and what the audiences can expect. 

How to encapsulate The Purists it's a tough one, but without giving too much away I would say it’s a slice of life, addressing big issues surrounding culture, race and sexuality.  It’s an unearthing (as Dan McCabe would say) of some pretty deep universal topics with an added flavour of comedy, music and rapping.

How would you describe Val Kano, the role you play in the show?      

Val is full of passion, aggression and insecurity. She’s on a tough road of trying to break into the hip hop industry as a Puerto Rican female MC whose got all the elements of what it takes to be successful but just hasn’t been given the chance or a shot at proving to people that she’s a powerhouse talent.
 

During the show, your character has to embark on a rap battle. If you could have a rap battle with any musician, who would you choose and why? 

I think I would be absolutely TERRIFIED to go into a rap battle or cipher with ANY of these legends of Hip Hop… I’ll let Biggie, Pac and Pun keep their crowns until I build up some more courage! Though, I think battling my cousin Aaron, (aka PStorm from the hit UAE rap crew The Recipe) would be amazing.

Tell us about the rehearsal process for the show and how you feel on that first day meeting everyone. 

The rehearsal process has been a joy. Everyone is so collaborative, enthusiastic and supportive of this piece and of each other. You feel really held as a collective, which is the beauty of theatre. First day feelings vary, yet there is always an underlying sense of nervousness; stepping into the unknown with people you’ve never met, but at the same time being nervous in some ways means you care, so I try to see it as a positive. 

How do you handle the line learning process? Is it a case of repetition is key, or do you have any other tricks up your sleeve? 

I find line learning now to be the easiest part of the acting process and also the most tedious. But if I can get that out of the way first, it leaves me so much more room in the rehearsal process to focus less on the words and more on the development and arc of the character I'm stepping into. Also being in relation to the other actors/actresses in the space, while redefining and analysing more in depth what the playwright has intended with their story. Repetition, I believe for line learning is key; getting it to a place where you could place yourself in any environment, loud, crazy, deadly silent, and the words can still roll off your tongue automatically. You want to get to a stage where it’s like muscle memory and you don’t have to think about the words, they are innately a part of you and then can be delivered from a place of authenticity, spontaneity and reaction to the other person on stage with you.