Paapa Essiedu explores being a 'British working-class black man' in new play Death of Engand

Virgin Radio

1 Sep 2024, 12:05

Gangs of London star Paapa Essiedu has swapped the screen for the stage as he stars in Death of England. 

Written by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams, Death of England is a series of three plays that are all interconnected and are being performed together for the very first time at Soho Place this summer. 

“That’s the beauty of it,” Paapa explained when discussing the play with Angela Scanlon on Virgin Radio UK. “There are three plays that inhabit the same characters, the same worlds, same families, same themes - they’re all connected but seen through different lenses.

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“So they do work as standalone pieces, and you can see one or two, or you can see all three on the same day!”

The actor plays Delroy in the series of plays and says the character has allowed him to explore what it means to be British in 2024. 

He explained: “[Delroy] is in conversation with what his idea of Britishness is and how he fits into an idea of British as a working-class black man who’s got the ambitions or the politics he has and the rights he believes he’s entitled to.”

Paapa continued: “There’s a conflict he gets into on the way to the hospital to see the birth of his child, which then kind of pulls everything out of context.

“It’s kind of a dissection of race, class, gender and interracially in 2024 but all shot through a lens of humour and wit.”

The first play, Death of England: Michael, will star Baby Reindeer’s Thomas Coombes as the titular character reflects on his complicated relationship with his late father. His father was a racist Leave supporter, while Michael secretly voted Remain, and his best friend, Delroy, is black. 

In Death of England: Delroy, Essiedu’s character takes centre stage, and his story is just as complex as an unemployed Brexit supporter. He’s in a relationship with Michael’s sister, Carly, but when she goes into labour, police racial profiling might mean he doesn’t make the birth. 

The final play, Death of England: Closing Time, focuses on Carly (played by The Crown’s Erin Doherty) and Delroy’s mum Denise (played by Dune’s Sharon Duncan-Brewster), whose joint business has tanked. The pair must come to terms with the fact they are both to blame while finding a way to reconcile.

Death of England is now showing at Soho Place and you can find tickets here.