Esosa Ighodaro’s star continues to rise ⭐
Interview
Vocalist, Writer, Actor, Filmmaker. Most of us are lucky to be good at one thing. And then some of us are multi-talented. This can be said of Esosa Ighodaro. Born in England, raised in Nigeria and currently Dublin based – Esosa’s star has been rising. In 2021 – Esosa won ‘Best Pitch’ at X-Pollinator: ELEVATOR (A Little Chilli) while in August 2022 it was announced that Disconnected was one of three Irish projects selected among the Writers Lab UK & Ireland – focused on supporting women and non-binary writers over 40.
Raised by accomplished parents (Esosa’s father is a mathematician while her mother is a doctor) – she has always had a desire to create and with recent success remains grounded and modest. “I am a fake actor” says Esosa. Fake actor? “Well my first professional role as an actor was in A Streetcar Named Desire. And on the back of that I was asked to do other acting roles including at The Abbey. All of a sudden – I had an agent and I was going to auditions but it was not career by design”.
Esosa’s career is testament of an ability to adapt and create across mediums. In fact – Esosa once aspired to be a ‘singing psychiatrist’; “When I was growing up I always wanted to be a singer. Growing up in a Nigerian family there tends to be an emphasis on “traditional” / professional jobs such as doctors, teachers, engineers. I was interested in psychology and thought ‘hmmm maybe I can blend the two” [laughs].
[Esosa Ighodaro in A Streetcar Named Desire at The Gate Theatre]
When we first met at Windmill Lane – Esosa randomly mentioned that she provided backing vocals for Stevie Wonder years back. Who hasn’t? You can understand why I was so keen to sit down and discuss Esosa’s career and aspirations going forward. Luckily she was kind enough to chat and reflect. Friendly, open and passionate Esosa discusses her career, upbringing, writing, the ‘artist experience’ in modern day Ireland and her work with Windmill Lane.
So…what do you do Esosa?
Depends on the day [laughs]. I would describe myself as a writer, director, singer / vocalist & a fake actor.
Congratulations on your recent selection for Writers Lab UK & Ireland. How do you enjoy working as a freelance writer?
I really like the freedom, creating my schedule and problem solving on my own. The real benefit is this provides me with the time and space to create. As a black woman living in Ireland there is so much that I am not seeing that I want to see – so that’s a lot of what I want to create. I think it’s important to do something that feels genuine to you. I want to see more of me on screen and I don’t. So that can inspire my work.
Where do you derive inspiration from?
I like human interactions. I like to see how people talk to each other and behave around each other. But it’s hard to pin-point where inspiration comes from really.
What’s the most defining job you’ve had in your career?
I don’t know…maybe I am yet to have that job. We are always learning, we are always discovering something new about ourselves and our abilities. I think I am easier on myself than most artists…I am not obsessed with having everything “perfect”.
[Esosa Ighodaro, Oedipus rehearsal photograph at The Abbey Theatre]
You spoke of a desire to “see more of me on screen”. Do you think Ireland is doing enough to implement real change?
I think people want to (or want to be seen to be ‘wanting to’) implement change but they don’t want to relinquish power. In order for representation to be ‘Representation’ you have to have people in power – decision making people – to have lived the experience. I don’t think it’s useful for me to pass judgement at this stage. Time will tell. Ireland really wants to get it right.
And what about change for artists living in Ireland?
Basic Income for Artists is positive. That will be a very useful level of support. The Arts are an essential service. We need emotional support so that we are not battling each other. What got people through the pandemic? It was the arts and you miss it when it’s not there.
Finally – you have worked with Windmill Lane over the years. How has that experience been?
From doing ADR work on KIN – I found that with Windmill Lane it was really smooth and that the audio was nicely incorporated. I was also in again recently for a short (A Little Chilli) and have been very happy working with the team. I am happy to report.
So Windmill Lane gets a gold star from a rising star?
Oh dear… [both laugh]
To follow Esosa’s career click here or image above
Written by Jason Gaffney
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