Marisha Wallace Interview
Marisha Wallace: "For Powerful Women It's Hard to Find a Man That's Not Intimidated"
Image Source: Yellow Belly Photo
Off the back of her triumphant Olivier Award performance this month, as Adelaide in "Guys and Dolls", Marisha Wallace shows no signs of slowing down. "I tore that stage apart," she says with a grin over Zoom. "I was representing the curvy girls in my Alex Perry gown. The fans there were also a weird crossover of "Celebrity Big Brother" fans and theatre fans." Although she missed out on the award, Wallace only has fond memories of the night. "The Olivier's was great for representation and showing sexiness in all sizes — it was an amazing night."
Speaking of "Celebrity Big Brother," who could forget that Wallace was told she was nominated for the prestigious theatre award live on the show earlier this year? "I wouldn't change anything about that moment," she says. "Days before it, Louis [Walsh] and everyone was asking, 'Have you heard about the Olivier's yet? Has Big Brother told you about nominations?' Then when it was announced, the whole house screamed."
Her close friendship with presenter Zeze Millz really got her though the experience, but at first she was skeptical. She explains: "I actually didn't expect such a real friendship to come out of this. With us women, you never know what it's going to be like. Either it's an explosion or it's the best sisterhood bond that you'll have for the rest of your life."
In reality TV in the UK, Black women are so often misunderstood and Marisha explains that she was conscious of this and had many discussions with Millz in the house. "I remember one episode where Louis and Zeze were arguing. In the moment, Zeze was crying and said 'Oh, no, everyone's going to think I'm an angry black woman because I was speaking up for myself.'" Marisha reminded her that you can't control people's opinions. "I told her we know who we are and the worst thing they can do is boo. As Black women, we've been booed before in life — we can get over a boo."
Image Source: Danny Khan
Wallace starts to well up with tears as she recalls the experience. "When we were sitting at the eviction Zeze was so nervous and we were tightly holding on to each other's hands," she says. When AJ [Odudu] and Will [Best, the presenters] called our names, nobody booed us and it was pretty amazing. I thought,'Wow, you can be your true authentic self, as a Black woman and people will understand you, and love you for it.'"
After the show, many Black women have thanked her for the authentic representation. She says: "I think it was so good to see different shades to black woman. Often we are painted with one brush when we have different sides to us. Sometimes we're vulnerable sometimes we're sassy or fun. It just depends and I think we showed all of those sides."
Wallace's story is one of perseverance and determination. Before moving to London to chase her West End dreams, the 38-year old grew up on a hog farm in Goldsboro, a small town in North Carolina - and her southern twang appears every so often. She believes that the hardships in her life have only propelled her further. "I think you should be be scared of somebody who has something to prove," she says confidently. Each year, the singer and actress has continued to raise the bar; from getting her big break in the West End starring as Effie White in "Dreamgirls", to now being a three-time nominated Olivier Award performer.
You can be your true authentic self as a Black woman and people will understand you, and love you for it."
She explains: "I'm always trying elevate myself because I'm not supposed to be here anyway. When I first started out singing at 16, I found out I had a cyst on my vocal cord. I had to get surgery and I was told I was never going to sing again - but I beat that. I grew up poor on a hog farm and no one in my town had ever been to seen a West End or a Broadway show. I've had all these obstacles in life. So, to to get this far it's it's like well, how much further can I go with hard work and perseverance?"
Wallace also sacrificed a lot for the level of success she has today: "I was married when I first arrived in London and I made the choice to end that marriage because I knew I was never going to reach this level if I stayed in a volatile relationship." In turn, she gave up a lot of years where she could of had a baby and a family. Wallace says: "Now, I'm travelling all the time and it's really hard to have kids when you're doing eight shows a week and trying to climb the career ladder. A lot of driven and powerful women have this struggle of trying to balance wanting to have a family but also the desire to build an empire."
For Wallace, there was a personal price she had to pay. "It's really hard to do - men can do both but women always have to sacrifice," she says. "At the time, I wanted to focus all of my attention on this career because I'm not doing it just for me — I want to leave a legacy behind. I married my career for a while." However, now she has found someone she really loves and who understands her ambitions. "It's really hard for powerful woman to find a man who's not scared of your light or intimidated by it. It's about finding someone who will let you fly and be the star that you are. I've always had this issue with men that I dated in the past who were like, 'Oh, we want to put a cap on that light, it's too bright and it's too much' and that made me feel insecure. Thankfully, now I'm with a man who lets me shine."
Image Source: Yellow Belly Photo
In society, although there has been some progress overall, there is still an expectation about a woman's purpose in life but Marisha has strong thoughts on this: "It's like women are destined or trained to have kids and be married — but things are different and the world has changed where we can make a choice," she says. "You don't have to have a family if you don't want and you can create the family that you want to make. There's also so many other ways to have kids if that's your choice. It's a woman's choice — period. Your body, your choice. If you don't want kids there are people out there who will be happy to just be with you and that's okay too."
"A lot of driven and powerful women have this struggle of trying to balance wanting to have a family but also the desire to build an empire."
Wallace also wants women to know that they can create a life that might deviate from societies norms and still be happy. She explains: "If you're single, it's okay to just be single and focus on yourself for a while — travel and enjoy your life! There's so many other options than just striving for marriage. Men don't strive for marriage and they get along just fine. So, why as women do we have this pressure on ourselves?"
So, what's next for the woman who never stops raising the bar? "I've written a musical," she reveals. "I want to own my art now because I've worked for other people for a long time and I've made a lot of people a lot of money. It's time for Black people to own their own art and to do the hiring — not just being a hired hand and bring wealth back into our own community." Wallace also has aspirations of more theatre and branching out into TV and film. "I'm not just doing this for me, but for the other little girl who's on the hog farm right now who is thinking 'I'm never going to get out of this, I'm never going to be a star.'"
Aaliyah Harry (she/her) is the associate editor at PS UK. She writes extensively across lifestyle, culture and beauty. Aaliyah also has a deep passion for telling stories and giving voice to the voiceless. Previously, she has contributed to Refinery29, Grazia UK and The Voice Newspaper.
