Interview: 'You Get The Truth Over The Tribute': Actor Ntombizodwa Ndlovu on Legacy, Learning and Joy in MARIE & ROSETTA

Before Elvis, Johnny Cash and Jimi Hendrix came Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the so-called 'godmother of rock ‘n’ roll’. After outings at the Rose Theatre in Kingston, to Wolverhampton, to Chichester, George Brant’s two-hander, Marie & Rosetta is soon to arrive in the West End. Set over a single night in 1946's Mississippi, the production focuses on Tharpe's relationship with Marie Knight, a singer and pianist who she plucked from obscurity to help her regain the church's approval and succeed against rival Mahalia Jackson. 

Making her West End debut is Ntombizodwa Ndlovu, who plays Marie, She spoke with BroadwayWorld about the journey of Marie & Rosetta, learning, legacy and the joy of working on a two-hander with Beverley Knight.

Congratulations on the return of Marie & Rosetta, Ntombizodwa! Can you tell us a little about your journey with the show thus far?

Thanks so much! The journey has been really crazy but so fulfilling. It's the UK premiere and we'd started off in Kingston at the Rose, and received such a wonderful, beautiful reception there, and then we went over to Wolverhampton, then we took it to Chichester, which was honestly... absolutely so beautiful, and now that we're coming to the West End, it's super exciting and I can't wait to share with everybody the story of Sister Rosetta and Marie Knight.

In your role, you move from being quietly reserved to belting out the tunes. Vocally and dramatically, is that a challenge for you?

Funnily enough, it's not a big challenge, I grew up in the church, so from as young as I can remember, singing every Sunday, belting out those gospel tunes to the congregation, and it's such a gift now to share my voice in this capacity. I think the way it's written as well, Sister Rosetta is so encouraging and she lights a fire under Marie, that she cannot help but be transformed, by the words instilled in her, and by the music as well... the journey of the music is absolutely beautiful!

You play Marie Knight, and your co-star Beverley Knight plays Rosetta Tharpe. The show is your West End debut – was it and is it daunting playing alongside someone as iconic as Beverley?

Daunting is one word! [laugh]) Intimidating, because as you say she is so iconic! I was like "oh God, I've got big boots to fill here!" You really have to turn up and do the work. I remember the first few weeks - I struggled coming out of my shell a little bit, but Bev is so generous with her energy and her knowledge, she's such a powerhouse of a woman and I've learned so much from just being around her and watching how she works. It's been a real blessing.

The two characters are often considered trailblazers in the industry and have an amazing, but little-known legacy – is it hard to balance that whilst serving the play as a piece of drama?

I think in the beginning it was hard to balance, but what the play does so well, is no matter what you're watching you get the truth over the tribute, it serves the emotional reality of these women, it honours what they were going through, first, before you get the joy of the fancy tunes... in a way that honours their legacy far better than just putting on the good tunes.

Your career has been wonderfully varied and eclectic thus far – what are some of the joys and challenges of a two-hander play like this one?

"I think, the joy is the fact that... you have to lean on each other heavily. No matter what happens onstage, you know you've got somebody there and you're locked in together. But, with that, you have to be on 100% and you have to be on the ball. A two hander is incredibly intimate - it's a huge test of stamina,  that push and pull, knowing when you're listening and zoning in on your scene partner, and knowing the sections where you rise up and take the mantle and drive the story. You have to really pay attention to the musicality of the whole show, because you are in the whole show, start to finish!

Has your portrayal of Marie been changing and developing the more you visit the piece, especially with different audiences, different spaces, and so on?

I think it has! As I've gone along, I think she has become more vulnerable; oftentimes when you open a show, the first couple of weeks, it's great and you're in it 100%, but for me I often find that as a show is ending you get that "oh, that was it" but with this, and opening it back up again, I've had time to really sit with her vulnerability, and the hurt she experienced in her life. I think, when a show first opens, you're very much building from the ground up and focused on the... technicalities, how it all fits together, and as you spend more time, things are unpacked, and you have time to enjoy their lives and their music!

Can we expect any big changes for the show’s West End transfer?

''Oooh, I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say! But yes actually, there are big changes - one of the being the stage lights on so we are now in the round! The set has changed massively, basically, so I think for people who have come to watch the show before, they are in for a treat just visually, because so much is different. There's been some changes to the script, the journey is the same - but I think there's been a few tweaks to how they get there!

Marie & Rosetta is set in a funeral parlour, as it was the only place the pair could stay safely in Jim Crow's southern America in 1946. How pivotal do you think the racism and discrimination these women faced is to their story?

Massively - the racism and discrimination that they face is why they are in the funeral parlour in the first place; it was one of the few spaces where black women, black people could exist with a degree of safety and autonomy in Jim Crow's America. The funeral parlour is symbolic of just how constrained their lives were, and how survival requires adaptation, and it drives the stake of the play, and their talent, their ambition and bond, they're always pushing against society and a society that's determined to limit them. Especially Rosetta's success, it isn't just artistic, it's an act of defiance and that's something that Marie really learns  quickly! 

The show shows empowerment and creativity amid these challenges. Do you believe that they became friends as well as creative partners?

Oh my gosh, absolutely! I don't think you could go through what they went through and come out as co-workers, they really loved each other so so deeply - it was deeper than friendship.

The duo fused gospel, R & B and rock influences to form their musical style – do you have a favourite number to perform?

It can change from show to show, but there's a moment where they finally come together, sing together and join their instruments as well as their voices... I would say my favourite moment would be performing "Didn't It Rain", just for that reason, we first hear their voices together and the audience, and they, discover the potential that they have, and how special they sound together."

Convince us to buy a ticket, you have a single sentence! 

I'm not being dramatic when I say this: don't gamble on what could be the best night of your life - get yourself a ticket!

Read our review of the the show from the Rose Theatre here.

Marie and Rosetta runs at @sohoplace from 28 February - 11 April

Buy Tickets to Marie & Rosetta