The Journey Of Ruth Kadiri: From Actress To Screenwriter

Ruth Kadiri, an actress and producer, has talked candidly about how she got started in the business. She says that her first significant step was going to the National Theatre.

Kadiri remembered how her love of the arts drove her to screenwriting in a recent podcast with Jay On Air TV.

“Growing up in the slum and getting out of it wasn’t really easy and I remember going to National Theatre. I went there, I wanted to act. I got there and there were like 1000 people or more, I just look everywhere, I said, ‘there’s no way I’m getting this role. The crowd is so much, there’s a lot of people that are intimidating you,’ and then I saw a notice that says screenwriting and stuff, I think maybe it was God. I just sha went into the office,” she said.

Kadiri explained that what followed was a stroke of luck that changed her life forever.

“I got there, I saw the man, he had three students I think they were waiting for the fourth one that one wasn’t coming, I said ‘sir please me I want to write’ he’s like ‘you have to pay.’ I said ‘I don’t have transport to even go home.’ He said ‘okay you can come.’ So it was free. He added me to his class for free and he taught me the basics.”

That opportunity, she revealed, became the foundation of her career.

“Doing that basic literally got me to where I am today because when I wrote my first script, that movie became a hit. I wrote that script and the producer obviously did not believe in me. I think he sent it out. He sent it to Tonto Dike and Uche Jombo and a couple of them, and I think Tonto kept telling him ‘oh this script, I really like it, I really like it.’ He didn’t even want to pay me. I didn’t care, I was like ‘just give me small role’ so he came back and said ‘okay let’s shoot it. I was just happy that they were going to shoot my film, my script. That one was a hit and the next one. That’s how it just started,” she said.

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