Adebayo Bolaji (born 15 May 1983) is a London-based painter, actor, writer and director.

Early life

Adebayo Tibabalase Bolaji was born in

Perivale Perivale () is an area of Greater London, west of Charing Cross. It is the smallest of the seven towns which make up the London Borough of Ealing. Perivale is mostly residential, with a library, community centre, a number of parks and open s ...

in the London Borough of Ealing, of Nigerian parents and is an English actor, writer and director. Bolaji began his acting career when he was 14 with the

National Youth Music Theatre The National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) is an arts organisation in the United Kingdom providing pre-professional education and musical theatre stage experience for young people. Based in London, it is constituted as a private limited company (orig ...

making his West End debut in their 1997 production of Bugsy Malone at the Queen's Theatre. With NYMT he performed at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

three times, in Tokyo, at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

and the Lyceum Theatre in the West End.

Education

Bolaji graduated from London Guildhall University with a degree in Law but went on to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Career as an Actor, Director & Writer

Bolaji originated the role of the Subway Ghost in the award-winning

Ghost the Musical ''Ghost'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Bruce Joel Rubin and music and lyrics by Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard. Based on the hit 1990 romantic fantasy thriller film of the same name, the musical had its world premiere at the Manche ...

, directed by

Matthew Warchus Matthew Warchus (born 24 October 1966) is a British theatre director, filmmaker, lyricist, and playwright. He has been the Artistic Director of London's The Old Vic since September 2015. Personal life Warchus is married to American actress Lau ...

and produced by Colin Ingram. Music and lyrics written by

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio album, '' In the Garden'', in 1981 to little succ ...

' frontman, Dave Stewart and the

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

award-winning

Glen Ballard Basil Glen Ballard Jr. (born May 1, 1953) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's 1995 album ''Jagged Little Pill'', which won Grammy Awards for Grammy Award fo ...

. Bolaji appeared in Skyfall directed by the Oscar-winning

Sam Mendes Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes (born 1 August 1965) is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was Knight Bachelor, knighted in the 2020 New Year Honour ...

, as one of the henchmen of Silva, played by Javier Bardem and was also cast in Tom Hooper's movie version of

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

Les Misérables (2012 film) but had to withdraw due to film schedule conflicts. In May 2013, Bolaji was cast in the

Menier Chocolate Factory The Menier Chocolate Factory is a 180-seat off-West End theatre, which comprises a restaurant, bar and rehearsal rooms. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate, Menier Chocolate Company factory at 53 Southwark Street, a major street in ...

's production of

The Color Purple ''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.

and the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...

's production of

Susan Stroman Susan P. Stroman (born October 17, 1954) is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director and performer. Her notable theater productions include '' The Producers'', '' Crazy for You'', ''Contact'', and '' The Scottsboro Boys''. She i ...

's London premiere of The Scottsboro Boys. Bolaji's first play ''Ugly Butterflies'' was performed at the Central School of Speech and Drama while still in training. Bolaji's second play, ''In Bed'', was written and produced at The Questors Theatre with Ex Nihilo, the theatre company he set up in 2009. In 2017, Ochre Press (an independent arts publication), published Bolaji's first poetry book
We Are Elastic Ideas
'. The book contains original drawings and poetry all combined poetically in a limited and non-limited edition. In December 2018, Bolaji's theatre company Ex Nihilo will be showing Jacky Ivimy's play
Dialektikon
at the Park Theatre which, Bolaji will direct. The play originally is based on the famous counter culture event in 1967, the Dialectics of Liberation.

Career as Painter

Bolaji is a self-taught artist and came to work with the medium of paint later on in his acting career. In an interview with Vanessa Murrell via DATEAGLE ART, he stated "acting and law offer great tools, such as asking the right questions". His work as a painter mainly deals with the process and narrative of change, and very much champions the artistic process being as important as the end result. Finding the likes of

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

Dubuffet Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French Painting, painter and sculpture, sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what ...

and

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al ...

and ideas that run back to the 1960s Oshogbo Art Movement in Nigeria, as part inspirations. In his own words: "Painting for me, can very much be like improvisation or devising in the theatre. One puts an idea of a kind down and one responds (truthfully) to it ... It's a constant conversation a visual dialogue with the subject matter always at the centre, until one arrives at the image which arguably has always been there since, I am always asking myself what is necessary ... Or responding honestly (as best as I can) to each part. Consequently, I arrive at the final image and know my part of the conversation is done, it's now left for others to view it and have their own opinion/dialogue ... Irrespective of mine." In 2016 Bolaji was chosen as Tangle's commissioned artist for Yinka Shonibare's MBE renowned Guest Projects Space, in Hackney London, for emerging artists, subsequently Bolaji was selected to show his works at long standing contemporary gallery Galerie Proarta, in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Personal life

Bolaji currently lives in London and also a percussionist.

Filmography

References

External links

* http://officialade.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Bolaji, Adebayo 1983 births Living people English male musical theatre actors People from the London Borough of Ealing English people of Nigerian descent Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Alumni of London Guildhall University Male actors from London English people of Yoruba descent Yoruba male actors