We sat down with SMB College Group Alumnus, British Actor and Performer, Emmanuel Akwafo, to talk about his time at the college, his successful career and his award-winning performance in For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy.
Emmanuel Akwafo has featured in movies and TV shows but has found his passion in the theatre, performing in Jack and the Beanstalk at Lyric Hammersmith, West Side Story at Curve Leicester and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Menier Chocolate Factory.
For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy is located on the threshold of joyful fantasy and brutal reality: a world of music, movement, storytelling and verse – where six young Black men meet in group therapy, clash and connect in a desperate bid for survival and let their hearts and imaginations run wild. In 2022 alongside his six-person ensemble, Emmanuel Akwafo won the Stage Debut Award for Best Performer in a Play for their performance.
What did you study at SMB College Group?
BA (Hons) Performing Arts
What was your favourite thing about studying at the college?
Loved the campus – it felt like it was a great hidden space to be creative. Loved meeting likeminded people who became family.
What got you interested in performing?
From a young age I have always loved messing around and pretending to be other people and it all started with a Christmas performance in primary school and have never looked back.
What have you done since leaving college?
Moved to London to start my acting career, toured the UK, working on amazing movies and tv shows.
What are your future career aspirations?
Stay focused and enjoy living out my dream.
Would you recommend the college to future students?
Absolutely, it was a great start to my career!
How did you feel when you won the Stage Debut Award? What does it mean to you?
I am still in shock that I won. It means the world to be to be able to carve a way for black boys and girls that look like me, to show them that anything is possible when you put your mind to it. This is not only for me it’s for you to.
Tell me more about For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy, what does the play mean to you?
This show was a lifeline I never knew I needed when I wanted to give up acting - give up on a lot of things. This show showed me how to focus my pain and my feelings and use them for good.
If you could go back and tell your younger self anything, what would you say?
Little drops of water make a mighty ocean.
Find out more about studying Performing Arts with SMB College Group at https://www.smbcollegegroup.ac.uk/courses/performing-arts