Page 536 - Guildhall Coverage Book 2020-21

Disconnect was worth it. I got to work with talented, collaborative people, had a really great

part and was getting paid. Three years at drama school had given me the confidence and the

skills to take that on. I feel very fortunate to have made my start in the profession with

something that rich.

I found drama school to be a great learning environment, but as someone who had learned

from a young age how to be a ‘good student’, I sometimes shied away from questioning what

I didn’t understand or challenging what I didn’t agree with. Disconnect was my first time

working with experienced actors, and I learned a lot from how they conducted themselves in

the rehearsal room. They argued their case when something didn’t work for them, but they

were also open to taking risks and trying new things. It was empowering to be around that as
a first-timer, and it’s something I hope I can pass on to the next generation of actors.

For the past few years, I’ve been an Arts Emergency mentor, and a lot of my role is

empowering my mentees to speak up when something feels unclear or isn’t working for

them. One other good piece of advice I would like to pass on to others came from an old

teacher of mine at Guildhall concerning reviews: if you’re going to read them at all, don’t
read them during the run. The bad ones can crush you and make you incredibly conscious of

the work you’re doing every night. The good ones can make you sloppy because you start

playing up to whatever a critic liked about your performance. Focus your energy on being in

the moment and serving the story.

CV Nikesh Patel

Age: Undisclosed

Training: Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Theatre includes: Man (Young Vic); Drawing the Line (Hampstead Theatre); Djinns of

Eidgah (Royal Court, London); Taming of the Shrew, Merchant of Venice, Macbeth (Royal
Shakespeare Company)

TV and film includes: Indian Summers (Channel 4); Man Like Mobeen (BBC); Four