Romain NJOH
Actor

Romain received a grant to help him finance his studies at the Conservatoire Royal de Liège.

What is your artistic background ?
Before I started theater, I began making music through the influence of my family, and went to a Conservatory until I was 17, that is to say nine years of training in cello. Then, I enrolled as an amateur at the Cours Simon, and I was revising my scenes at the same time as preparing for the Baccalauréat. Although we only had three hours of theater per week, I took it very seriously, thinking that I would be spotted there... (he laughs). I stayed there for two years and then I left the school to act in friends' projects that we all took a huge amount of interest in. In the meantime, I met Jean Bellorini and the Air de Lune company, which was set up by the Théâtre de l'Odéon for Le Rêve d'un Homme Ridiculeby Dostoyevsky. This project, which brought together several young people from the 92^ndand 93^rddistricts of the Paris suburbs and the 17th arrondissement, pushed me to embrace the career of an actor more seriously. After that, I spent a year at the Studio Théâtre d'Asnières where I had the chance to act a little: first on the big stage of the TNP in Villeurbanne and at the Théâtre des Gémeaux in Sceaux in two plays by Aimé Cesaire, Une Saison au Congoand La Tragédie du Roi Christophedirected by Christian Schiaretti. I tried the Royal Conservatory of Liège, under the advice of a friend, thinking that a national school would allow me to sharpen my tools and meet new people. And here I am today, almost at the end of four years of training.

How do you see your profession today ?
Very naively, I went into the profession thinking that one day I would be able to bring my family out of poverty. This thought is still with me but in a small corner of my head. I am rather a naive person, in a good way, and an optimist. That being said, I look at the profession with a sense of denial and disgust, especially as I am about to leave school. Our graduation will be at a time of total market saturation due to Covid. The young companies will have to be even more patient in waiting to show their work on big stages. So, let's not delude ourselves. I want to find, despite everything, strength in the contacts I have made in Belgium, and I want to believe in them. About the market of the individualized actor, I dream of other possibilities: of a place with people who are close to me, where creations can see the light of day. This market needs to be tamed in order to be better transformed. It's not very clear in my head yet but it will be soon.

How do you see yourself in 5 years ? In 10 years ?
I honestly have no idea. I hope I will still be passionate about what I love. Music, theater, meeting the public.

Interview conducted in 2021
Photography credit: Julia Grandperret