Bo Poraj: 14 questions
Doctors, they’re here to help, right? Not always. Dr Pepper, for example, is not going to help the obesity epidemic, if it’s drunk in vast quantities. And Marvel supervillain Doctor Doom cares little for anyone’s health. To this short list you can add Dr David Williams, the healer portrayed by actor Bo Poraj in new dark comedy Rasheeda Speaking. In the hit US drama, which receives its UK debut at Trafalgar Studios, Dr Williams may well want to cure the sick – certainly those who can afford his expensive Chicago practice. But he also wants to get the black receptionist fired. So he enlists the help of her colleague. Bo Poraj tells us more about the play, which also stars Elizabeth Berrington, Tanya Moodie and Sheila Reid, and the theatres that are guaranteed to keep him happy: [caption id="attachment_293851" align="alignnone" width="300"]
Bo Poraj and Elizabeth Berrington in Rasheeda Speaking at Trafalgar Studios (Image: Mitzi de Margary, courtesy of Kate Morley PR)[/caption] 
Tanya Moodie and Elizabeth Berrington in Rasheeda Speaking at Trafalgar Studios (Image: Mitzi de Margary, courtesy of Kate Morley PR)[/caption] 
Bo Poraj and Elizabeth Berrington in Rasheeda Speaking at Trafalgar Studios (Image: Mitzi de Margary, courtesy of Kate Morley PR)[/caption]
Bo Poraj and Elizabeth Berrington in Rasheeda Speaking at Trafalgar Studios (Image: Mitzi de Margary, courtesy of Kate Morley PR)[/caption] What is Rasheeda Speaking about?
Rasheeda Speaking is a dark comedy about racism. It is set in the reception area of a hospital consultant and is about the power struggle that ensues when the consultant enlists the help of his white female receptionist to spy on his black female receptionist, in order to get her sacked.You play Dr David Williams. How would you describe him?
Williams is charming, intelligent, kind, likeable – but racist.What made you want to do this show?
This is one of the best scripts I’ve been sent in years. It grabs you from the beginning to the end. It is smart, challenging and uncomfortably funny. Actors are drawn to great scripts and we have three fantastic actresses in this show.Why is it an important story to tell?
Racism hasn’t gone away, just look at recent world events. This play challenges the insidious ways that racism can subtly manifest in seemingly “nice” people and “acceptable” society.Did anything surprise you during rehearsals?
Sometimes when a play immediately grabs you, it can reveal itself to be thin after the interrogation of a four-week rehearsal period. My enjoyment and appreciation of this play has only deepened the more we have worked on it. That’s a sign of great writing. [caption id="attachment_293854" align="alignnone" width="300"] Tanya Moodie and Elizabeth Berrington in Rasheeda Speaking at Trafalgar Studios (Image: Mitzi de Margary, courtesy of Kate Morley PR)[/caption] How are you feeling about performing at Trafalgar Studios?
Trafalgar 2 is known for new and exciting work. Audiences come expecting something that they wouldn’t necessarily see in the mainstream West End. I’m really excited about sharing this play at Trafalgar 2 because I think audiences are going to love it.What was your first experience of theatre?
I grew up in Birmingham and the Midlands Arts Centre in Cannon Hill Park was my playground. At that time, during the ’70s and ’80s, there was a resident puppet theatre run by a man call John Blundall. He has come to be regarded as one of the world’s leading puppet masters. I still remember seeing some of his productions and the magical displays of his puppets in glass cases around the Midlands Arts Centre. They cast a spell and left a lifelong impression.Why is watching a live performance so special?
Every performance is different and every audience is different. There is a transaction that goes on between actor and audience in live performance that cannot be replicated on a screen. It is something that we are clearly hardwired into as humans because we’ve always done it. It goes back, in its simplest form, to storytelling around a fire. With all the myriad entertainment choices on offer these days, people still return time and again to the theatre.What one piece of advice would you give aspiring performers?
Acting is one of the few professions in which it is hard to develop and practise your craft when you are not working, so it is very easy to feel like you are not an actor when you are not being employed. In those times, I think it is important to find things that feed that part of you, or to create your own work, so that you are not dependent upon other people giving you permission to be an artist.Apart from the Trafalgar Studios, which is your favourite London theatre?
I have never seen a bad play at the Almeida or Donmar. Their shows always feel like an event. I have worked at Hampstead Theatre a couple of times in the last year and they are also producing fantastic work. Prism at Hampstead was my favourite show of last year. [caption id="attachment_293852" align="alignnone" width="300"] Bo Poraj and Elizabeth Berrington in Rasheeda Speaking at Trafalgar Studios (Image: Mitzi de Margary, courtesy of Kate Morley PR)[/caption]