URIELLE
KLEIN-MEKONGO

Learning to dress for every version of the woman I am. Someone once asked me: “Why don’t you dress like the actors in the industry?” I remember the question because, honestly, it made me think. As an actor, I've spent a lot of time being aware of how I look. And as a plus-size Black actress, I've also been very aware that casting doesn't always have the imagination to see me as the leading lady. Sometimes it can feel like people already have an idea of what a “leading woman”

On Wole Soyinka, extraordinary collaborators, and the kind of theatre I want to keep making. There are some jobs you know are going to stay with you. The Swamp Dwellers is one of them. I feel incredibly lucky that I got to be part of this production of Wole Soyinka’s The Swamp Dwellers with Utopia Theatre in Sheffield. And now that the show is out in the world, I’ve been thinking about what the experience actually meant to me. Not just playing Makuri’s wife, but being part of

31 going on 32 — and there is still so much I want to try. I had a little realization recently. I'm 31. Going on 32. And there are so many things I've never done. Not necessarily the huge things. The ordinary things. The things that other people seem to have learnt, tried, experienced or ticked off years ago. For example… I can't ride a bike. There. I said it. I genuinely cannot ride a bike. I also can't swim properly. I don't drive. I've never been on a cruise. I've never be