Ayesha Casely-Hayford | Actress
2014 started, I blinked and the next minute I knew I was shooting my first full-length feature film. Just before I got the audition I had a dream about shooting a film (love it). The dream was lonely and a bit cold and when I woke up the first thing I said to myself was […]
At school I played Bugsy in Bugsy Malone (it was an all girls school…) and doing this voice over job took me back – I love this accent. The job was for Lucas Machowski a London-based Polish film director who has lived and worked in NYC. The projects (housing estates) of Staten Island have a […]
THE FIRST EVER business day of the West and South West London Equity Branch. The brain child of our Branch Chair, actor Andrew Macbean, our first Business Day at The Seven Dials Club in the heart of Covent Garden has been a Success. Over 100 members attended to hear guest speakers presenting talks and offering […]
My brother will be closing his eyes and turning away from the screen – I have been kissing again in my films and he hates it, poor boy. My last short film “Mama’s Boy” in which I play the girlfriend of the lead is now complete, mwah. On the back of this, I’m doing my first […]
“Mama’s Boy” is a ThreadHouse Production. It is a story written by Jane Lowe (who also produced the film). The director was Zohaib Ali. I featured me as the girlfriend, “Tanesha”. The film is an urban drama about a young guy, Michael, stuck in a depressing life cycle of violence and gang culture, trying to […]
On returning home after crying through watching 12 Years A Slave, I’m in the mood for proclaiming my freedom. I’ve been busy. I’m shooting my first feature film in February, I’ve had great auditions since the year began and I’ve met some brilliant casting directors. I’m off to Switzerland on the weekend to spend a […]
Also by Mail is a play by Olumide Popoola (writer/poet/performer). “…a modern family comedy-drama that follows the experiences of Nigerian-German siblings Funke and Wale, who fly [from Germany] to Nigeria to bury their deceased father and find themselves amidst turbulent funeral preparations. Eventually Wale returns to Germany, upset about his experience in Nigeria, only to […]
We shot this music video in around three hours, just me and the camera man/director Francesco Bori. The song “You Make Me Smile” was written by Gregg Cain but the singer is anonymous, which is a shame as it’s beautiful. The idea of the film is that there is a memory…that carries the character through […]
It has been a week of progress. I’ve been busy with theatre, film, voiceover work and auditions. What has been on my mind though is the topic of equality. At my Equity Branch meeting last month we were discussing the Bechdel test: representation of women in film. You can read more here but essentially this has […]
This weekend I’ve crossed the river and moved from Finchley to Brixton – North to South London. It’s a bit different…compared to the quiet greenlands of Finchley, Brixton is buzzing and on the edge of being nuts. It’s exciting. I’m not quite settled but everything seems pretty much on my doorstep. In the middle of […]
