OMARI DOUGLAS

With a twinkle in his eye, Omari Douglas illuminates us about his return to theatre in the West End revival of Constellations, his life-changing role in It’s a Sin a nd queer representation in the acting world

Words Thomas Stichbury

Some questions are easier to answer than others, as Omari Douglas discovers when he hops onto our video call wearing his beloved Spice Girls t-shirt and is asked to reveal his favourite member of the band. It’s like a gay Sophie’s Choice. “Shit,” he gasps, with a look of genuine panic on his face. “I think it is Mel B.”

More of a Posh stan myself. “If it wasn’t Mel B, it would be Vicky B,” he concurs, adding that he recently tumbled down a rabbit hole trying to figure out what happened to Victoria’s second solo album: “[I didn’t know] Resentment, which is on Beyoncé’s B’Day album, she recorded it first. So, Beyoncé got a hand-me-down from Victoria Beckham – that’s mad!”

The official campaign to exhume VB’s buried music starts here.

Making his television debut as the irrepressible Roscoe Babatunde in Russell T Davies’ powerful Aids drama It’s a Sin (more on that in a moment), Omari has since returned to his first love, theatre, and when we speak, he is in the middle of rehearsals for the Donmar Warehouse’s West End revival of Constellations at the Vaudeville Theatre, just outside London’s Seven Dials.

Dazzling audiences during its debut run in 2012, Nick Payne’s funny, heart-breaking play whizzes through a string of ‘what ifs’ as it follows the relationship of a quantum physicist and beekeeper who make cute at a party. The latest iteration features an alternating cast – including Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who), Anna Maxwell Martin (Line of Duty) and Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids) – with Omari and co-star Russell Tovey shining bright as the show’s first gay pairing, respectively Manuel (formerly Marianne) and Roland.