What shows or projects have you done with ETT?
Reasons To Stay Alive
Finish the sentence: Touring is important because…
The rest of the world can see what is being created in London, it gives other theatres and members of public the chance to see your work.
Where is home for you?
London
Where is your home away from home?
I don’t have one
How did you bring home with you on tour?
I brought books with me and my diary
Which city was your favourite to visit on tour with ETT?
Manchester and York
What gem did you discover on tour with ETT (could be a landmark/park/cafe/pub etc)?
The Curiosity Shop in York.
What are your touring essentials?
Diary, laptop, phone, knife/fork/spoon set!
What’s your go-to recipe whilst on tour?
Pasta bake!
Touring is important because the rest of the world can see what is being created in London, it gives other theatres and members of public the chance to see your work.
They care just as much as you do about making sure you have a fantastic time
Which artist(s) do you most admire and why?
Michaela Coel. She started writing and performing her work even though she knew she hadn’t written anything before. I know she’s beloved everywhere for her Chewing Gum masterpiece.
What music inspires you?
Eclectically: rock, reggae, R&B and hip hop
What image or video inspires you?
Anything from artist Kandinsky
What piece of writing or quote inspires you?
Hillel – ‘if not now then when?’
What, for you, makes a good piece of art?
Truth.
What have been your career highlights so far?
Touring to York with Reasons to Stay Alive. Filming LOVE theatre production for BBC Films. Touring TAO Of Glass theatre production to Australia
If you were cast away on a desert island, which 5 plays would you take with you and why?
Chewing Gum (because I love Michaela Coel’s Work. It’s raw and nostalgic), Fleabag (because Phoebe Waller-Bridge is hilarious, dark and witty), The Scar Test (because I love the honesty in Hannah Khalil’s writing and it opened my eyes to a world I didn’t know existed), Barber Shop Chronicles (because Inua Ellams speaks about what it’s like to be a black man, something rarely spoken about), and Halfbreed (because Natasha Marshall talks about what it’s like to be mixed race in today’s society, something I identify with).
Please can you tell us what you would say to emerging artists to encourage them to take their work on the road or join an ETT tour?
ETT look after you extremely well and have been an absolute joy to work with on tour! If you take your work on tour, you’ll know that you’ll be in safe hands. They care just as much as you do about making sure you have a fantastic time and that the work is well supported and always updated in the media!
Window or aisle seat?
Aisle
Favourite way to travel?
Plane
If you could have any superpower, which would you choose?
Time travel
Janet Etuk’s biog:
Janet trained at East 15.
Theatre includes: Tao of Glass (Royal Exchange Theatre / Manchester International Festival); Dinomania (New Diorama Theatre); Love (National Theatre / Birmingham Rep / UK tour); Gastronomic (Norwich Theatre); Faith, Hope and Charity (Workshop / National Theatre Studio); Satyagraha (English National Opera / Improbable); A Cracked Plaster Sky (Futures Theatre); The Scar Test (Soho Theatre / UK tour); Icons (Blazon Theatre); Beyond Caring (National Theatre / UK tour); The Love I Feel is Red (Tobacco Factory / Òran Mór); The Spanish Tragedy (Old Red Lion); Dead Grass (Arcola Theatre); Lone Rangers (Blue Elephant Theatre); Humans Incorporated (Alchemist Theatre); Dead Grass (East 15 / Southwark Playhouse); Sealand (Arcola Theatre); The Story of the Four-Minute Mile (Oxford Playhouse); Doing the Idiots (National Theatre Studio); And Touch Me (Rustaveli, Tbilisi).
Film includes: Love, Mute Film Series: Date, The Souvenir, Expecting.
Playwriting credits include: Mkpa Mbiet (Dead Grass) (Southwark Playhouse / Arcola Theatre)
Further reading:
Twitter: @janetetuk
Instagram: jantics_etuk
