At the age of nine Toba Agbelusi is relishing a summer on stage at Chichester Festival Theatre.
He is playing Swindler in Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Oliver! until Saturday, September 7, book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart, freely adapted from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist.
He is playing Swindler in Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Oliver! until Saturday, September 7, book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart, freely adapted from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist.
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00:00Good morning, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Now, lovely
00:06this morning to speak to Toba Agbalusi. Now, Toba, by the end of the summer, you will have
00:10something utterly fantastic on your CV. You will be able to tell the world that you have
00:15been in Oliver on the Church's Festival Theatre this stage, this summer, this stage. And how
00:22exciting is that? You had to do so many auditions just to get the part, didn't you?
00:27Yeah, I had to do four auditions to get the part. It was a really scary moment for me,
00:33because I was like, will he pick me? Will he not? And when I finally got the part,
00:38like, let's say the excitement level's here, I was all the way up there.
00:43And is that excitement useful? Can you channel that excitement into energy on stage?
00:49Yeah, yeah, yeah, it really is.
00:52What were they making you do?
00:54So, on the first audition, I had to sing Consider Yourself. I had to learn that song. And on the
01:01second audition, I kind of had to introduce all my performing art teachers. So, Mrs Elliot,
01:13also known as Mini Elliot, Mrs Wardroper, also known as Jo Wardroper, and Mrs Hall,
01:20also known as Stan Hall. So, Mrs Elliot is my drama teacher, Mrs Wardroper is my music teacher,
01:31and Mrs Hall is my, she's a teacher, she also helps Miss Elliot with acting, but she's also
01:40great at teaching dance.
01:42Goodness, and then there were two more auditions after that then?
01:46Yes. So, on the second one, I had to learn a dance. So, Miss Hall kind of really helped me
01:50with that. And Miss Wardroper helped me with the music, so I know, like, the beats to when to come
01:56in. And then Miss Elliot helped me how to, like, act when I'm singing at the same time. So, it was
02:05really, it was a, like, four-man job for that.
02:08Wow. And did it feel like pressure at the time? Because you must have been so much.
02:14Pressure. But, like, it was, I was scared, but excited at the same moment, because, like,
02:24if I don't get in, it's still a good achievement that I even made it to, like, the final audition.
02:31If I do, that's going to be great, like, exciting, like, really exciting.
02:35And you made it to the final audition, and then you had the email saying you were in.
02:40What passed through your mind when you had that email saying, yes?
02:45I was like, is this a dream or something? Cameron McIntosh just picked me.
02:52Yeah, it was really, really exciting.
02:56And tell me a little bit about the character you're playing.
02:59It's not necessarily terribly good, but he's not bad, is he?
03:04No. So, my character is called Swindler Lockhart, and he kind of, like, he's a highwayman,
03:14and the way he got into the gang is, like, he pickpocketed Fagin, who's, like, the leader of
03:21the gang. He's not a good, he's not so good of a character, but he's not so bad of a character,
03:26so he's kind of in the middle. And Fagin kind of liked the way I pickpocketed him,
03:32so he allowed us to join the gang. And then we met so many other people, like Dodger,
03:40Bartholomew Standy, Charlie, lots of, like, some of the older classes for pickpocketers in Fagin's
03:49gang. This sounds fantastic, and it's such a brilliant story, isn't it? Incredibly involving,
03:54and from the audience point of view, we're just going to be swept along by it, aren't we?
03:58Yeah. But is it going to be hard work for you? It must be a big feat of concentration.
04:04Yeah, it's quite tough work, but then, when I've done the work, like, it's great. Like,
04:10I can just express myself, and, like, when it's all over, I can meet my friends again,
04:16or I might even get picked for the West End, which I hope I do.
04:18Absolutely. So, are you kind of putting the rest of your life on hold for the summer,
04:23to concentrate? It's clear.
04:25Yeah. Wow. And all this at the age of nine. Incredible.
04:32This is my first ever show, yeah, in my home theatre. Well, I mean, I do just a youth theatre.
04:40Yeah. But that helps that you have that background then, doesn't it?
04:45Yeah. And this is, if all being well, where your career will lie, isn't it?
04:50Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:53So, go on then, what is the pleasure in acting? Why do you do it?
04:57I mean, I've just loved it. From, like, the start I was born, I was, like,
05:04jumping up and down and all that stuff, and, like, if, like, if I got tapped by,
05:09like, my mum or dad, I'd be like, oh! Like, it's really hard, yeah.
05:14Oh, it sounds like you're a natural. Really lovely to speak to you, and have a fantastic summer.
05:20Congratulations on getting your part, and enjoy every second, I'm sure you will.
05:24Lovely to speak to you.
05:26Yeah.
05:27Thank you.