Interview with playwright and actress Apphia Campbell

Exeter Today spoke with Apphia Campbell, a highly talented actress, playwright, and creator of the critically acclaimed play Black Is The Colour of My Voice, which is coming to Exeter next month.

The play follows the life of Nina Simone, an influential American singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist known for her powerful voice and emotional performances. Nina faced significant challenges throughout her career and is celebrated today as a pioneer in music and a key figure in the civil rights movement. 

Apphia described her initial attraction to Nina’s life and legacy.

“I guess I fell in love with her sound. I just loved her voice. I had never heard someone sing with so much emotion and pain and so I just wanted to know where that came from. And then as I researched her a bit more I just fell in love with who she was as a woman and what she represented to the civil rights movement. I guess I was also really inspired by her because of the stand she took. 

“It wasn’t a popular stance to some of her audiences and it was also kind of detrimental to her career, she thought, in the long run. But I was so inspired by her conviction in what she believed and how she stood behind that even to the detriment of her career.

“At the time when I wrote this piece, there wasn’t even a documentary or movie or anything about her, there were just all these stories and myths. I really wanted people to understand the women behind the music and where she came from and her dreams and how she saw herself and the message that she wanted to send out to the world."

Apphia started her research on Nina by reading her autobiography and watching numerous YouTube videos.

She recalled the collaborative element of her research after she told people what she was writing about. 

Many had their own stories to share, either of things they’d heard about Nina or personal memories they had of watching her perform. 

Apphia found that these conversations fuelled her writing, inspiring her determination to show the human side of Nina’s legacy.

“She’s still seen, as they call it, a high priestess of soul! A woman who was definitely an important figure for the civil rights movement and ultimately a woman who was proud of being a black woman in everything that she did, in the way she dressed and in the way she talked about her music and how you can look to her to see the beauty in yourself as black people and to understand ourselves through her and her music.”

Apphia has acted the role of Nina for eleven years, but will now hand the role over to fellow actress, Nicholle Cherrie, who will be performing in the upcoming UK tour for the first time. 

“I’ve just been wanting to focus on other projects. I think also after doing it for so long, it’s time for someone else to take it on and breathe new life into it and that’s why I’m really excited for Nicholle to be taking it over because she’s such a brilliant and beautiful actress with a wonderful, amazing voice. I think audiences are going to be in for a real treat with her.”

When asked what Apphia thought of Exeter audiences, she said: "I think they’ve always been wonderful! I’ve loved going to the Exeter theatre. I think the sound was really amazing. I always gauge that when I go to venues for a piece like this as when you’re talking and singing for 70 or 75 minutes it’s really important to have good sound. So I remember the places where I’m like, ‘I sound amazing!’

“The audiences are wonderful because you feel free to give yourself fully emotionally because everything just aligns and so I’ve always enjoyed my time there. They’ve always felt really warm and receptive, they’ve really understood the piece and it’s always sold really well there.

“Unfortunately I didn’t get to see much of Exeter! I never get to see much of these cities because I’m always there one day.”

Apphia originally wrote Black Is The Colour Of My Voice in 2013 after she moved to China, marking her first time living abroad from America. 

Nina lived in various countries and continents throughout her life, so Apphia wanted to replicate a similar experience to enrich her writing.

“And so I went there, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna go for a year and I’m gonna write this piece and live abroad, have all these experiences.’ And I ended up staying for six years. So after about four or five years living there, I sat down and started writing it because I wanted to have something when I left China to try to tour and do for myself. 

“I never imagined that it would take me all over the world. Maybe that’s the beauty of it. I wrote it because I was really passionate and wanted to tell that story, and I guess writing from that authentic place helped people really connect to it. I feel really grateful for that.”

For more details about the play and its upcoming performance in Exeter, check out our original article.