Interview: Nana Mensah Talks NOLLYWOOD DREAMS, QUEEN OF GLORY & More

As the entertainment industry wakes up from its long, pandemic-induced break, audiences are once again experiencing the joy of sitting in a darkened theater and being transported to another world. At the forefront of live theater and film's long-awaited, return is Nana Mensah.

Mensah is currently starring in Jocelyn Bioh's Off-Broadway play Nollywood Dreams, and her film Queen of Glory, which she wrote, stars in, and directed, is wracking up awards at every festival it's shown at, including the Tribeca Film Festival, Champs-Élysées Film Festival, German Film Festival, Hamptons International Film Festival, and more.

We spoke with Nana Mensah about her experience returning to Nollywood Dreams, what she hopes audiences take away from Queen of Glory, and much more!

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You have so many incredible things going on right now. Let's start with Nollywood Dreams! The production was previously postponed due to the pandemic, and it's now launching MCC Theater's 2021-2022 season. How does it feel to be back with the company of Nollywood Dreams?

It's really unique, and it feels so special. We were in our last day in the rehearsal room on March 12, 2020. After we did our final run we had a company meeting, everyone came in the room, of course only some of us were masked because we didn't know what we didn't know. But, we were in the room and they were like, "Look, Broadway has just shut down, we are going to let you guys go home for a couple of weeks, and then we will reconvene when this all blows over." Fast forward 18 months, and we're back in the room together! Now we're onstage, and it has been really amazing.

I think what was also great was our leadership. Saheem Ali as a director, the day after we started he was like, "You know what? I just want to acknowledge that everybody's been through something these past 18 months, so can we go around and check in? Tell us what happened from March 12 until now." So, we kind of checked in as a company and it was so raw to hear what everybody else has been through, and what this time has meant in terms of working, or not working, and where you are with your artistry. It feels life-affirming to get back on stage and do this thing that we said we were going to do 18 months ago.

This part was written for you, can you tell me about the character you play and what the process has been like bringing the role to life?

It's been a long process! I have been attached to this part for years now, and have done multiple workshops and readings, and so it feels like a pair of well-worn cowboy boots, just slipping my feet into them. It's second nature. I play the character of Dede, and her sister is gunning for the lead role in a Nollywood film. This is the beginning of the Nollywood film industry in the early 90s. Dede works in her parents' travel agency, albeit quite reluctantly, I use the word 'work' very loosely because she mostly just reads magazines and eats snacks.

She's kind of like the Greek chorus of the play in terms of her relationship with her sister. You know that friend that's always like, "Are you sure that's what you want to do?" But, then, of course, ultimately they have your back 100%. That's kind of her relationship with her sister, she's going to be the first one to tease her, but she's also going to be the first one to celebrate her when she wins. So, that's the character, celebrity obsessed, loves her celebrity gossip magazines and avoiding work as much as possible at the travel agency.

How does it feel to be back in front of a live audience?

We're taking the most precautions, our cast and crew are all in a testing pod regime, we're getting tested multiple times a week, and then audiences have to show proof of vaccination and be masked to be a member of the audience. With those guardrails in place, I think audiences feel really safe and pretty grateful to be back in the theater! Especially with a show like this, which is farcical, it's highly comedic. So, I don't know how the audience temperament would be for, like, the Scottish play right now. If you're going to come back to the theater I think we need to entice people with laughter and with joy. I think those are two things that this play does really well. It's a tightly constructed Nollywood film within a play. And I think in that way, a lot of times, especially during the higher comedic moments, I can feel the audience's relief, and gratitude, and joy of being there and taking this baby step toward normalcy.

It's a really special time, and I don't think we as performers take it lightly, in terms of that responsibility of bringing people back to the theater. We're really putting our all out there on the stage because we are so grateful that people are coming at all.

Let's talk about Queen of Glory! It is sweeping at all of the awards, how does it feel to have something that you wrote, directed, and star in achieve such incredible success?

Where to start! It's been incredible, it's been amazing. The film has been a long-gestating project that suffered from all the ailments that all indie films suffer from, especially an indie film that deals with a Christian bookstore in the Bronx and Ghanian-American identity! I think we were under-resourced, we were counted out, so to triumph in this way, winning these awards, getting shown at all these amazing festivals around the world - we've been all through Europe and Korea, and all through the US - it's been beyond my wildest dreams. It's been fantastic, and I'm so glad that people have responded to the film the way they have.

The people who have seen it at the various festivals have been so excited about the experience. Going to the movie theater again is already a treat in and of itself, but then, to see a film that speaks to an experience that people aren't directly aware of, but are tangentially aware of... I mean, I've had Chinese-American viewers come up to me and be like, "Oh my god, this feel like my story too!" in that way that it's highly specific, highly niche, but also universal, there's no better thing than being affirmed in that way as an artist.

On that note, with so many people coming to you and saying how much it means to them, what do you ultimately hope that audiences will take away from Queen of Glory?

It's weird because in the Ven diagram of things, there's definitely an overlap with Nollywood Dreams and Queen of Glory. When you talk about American immigration, people are like, "Oh my god, war, poverty, famine." That's what they think about, and it's like, no, there's also a lot of joy, there's a lot of laughter. I think that Nollywood Dreams is showing that on the continent, and then in some ways Queen of Glory is showing that in another way 30 years later, a different kind of way to be African on American soil that does not involve war, poverty, famine. Those things that, of course, exist, but they exist in the United States too! So, that's not the only narrative that's being exported from Africa.

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For more information on Nollywood Dreams, CLICK HERE!

Photo credit: Stephanie Diani