Aliyah Odoffin on starring in 'The Story'

Following her West End debut in All My Sons, this talented young actor is tackling a contemporary American classic in The Story.

Summary

• Aliyah Odoffin is starring in The Story alongside Letitia Wright and Lorraine Toussaint
• The play is by Tracey Scott Wilson
• Performances run at the National Theatre through October

After making her West End debut in Ivo van Hove’s acclaimed revival of All My Sons last year, RADA graduate Aliyah Odoffin’s career is off to an extraordinary start. Next up she stars with Letitia Wright and Lorraine Toussaint in The Story, American playwright Tracey Scott Wilson’s seminal thriller about the power of the media.

She tells us how her career began, who the people are who have inspired her, and what she is hoping to do next. She also teaches us a new confidence-building mantra, courtesy of her very wise and supportive mother.

How did you get started in your career?

I always knew I wanted to act, and I was blessed with a mother who poured into those dreams from the moment I voiced them. My siblings were my first audience. I’m one of four, and I have lots of cousins. After sixth form, I knew I wanted to study acting. I didn’t know much about drama schools, so I went on a hunt with my mum. I chose RADA, graduated and have been working since, which has been incredible.

Do you remember the show you saw?

I do. It was The Lion King. I was five, and I remember being on the aisle, all the animals coming down, seeing the lights and thinking, “This is incredible.”

You made your West End debut last year in All My Sons. What was that experience like?

It was incredible. Everyone had such talent and grace. Watching how they worked encouraged me to let go and play, and taught me how to manage work of that magnitude. Half was doing the work and half was taking in the room, like a free masterclass. [Director] Ivo van Hove encouraged us to come in when we weren’t called and be a fly on the wall. It made me think, “Okay, we can do that. Anything is possible.” It was a first step into the West End and an incredible company.

What can you tell me about The Story?

The best way to go into this production is to know little and be taken on the journey. I’ve been summarising it as the lengths reporters go to get the story. That translates into things in our world: when people feel called to a cause, and what we do to get it out there or understand it. The play tackles the mindset and what it looks like. I can’t say much else without ruining it. I don’t think there is one ending to this play, with the way it works, the language and the muscularity of it.

Tell me about the cast you’re working with and what it is like working at the National.

It’s amazing because this building is always on. You walk down the corridors and hear singing, lines being run, or another set being built. That contributes to the beauty in these shows because the environment is so creative.

Everyone has come to this piece with the fullness of who they are. It’s technical and intricate, and watching the different ways everyone approaches it is remarkable. Every person brings something, teaches you something and encourages something. That’s the beauty of the rehearsal room. It’s extraordinary.

What are the next things you are hoping to do in your career?

I hope to continue doing roles and stories that excite me and maybe scare me a little — where I don’t know where this could go, but I have a gut instinct. I listen to my gut because then I have the alchemy of being in something I care about and want to serve. I want to continue doing stage and screen, oscillating between roles that call me higher. That would be fun.

Looking back, who are the people on your journey who have helped to get you where you are?

I have to give it to my mama — the original performer, who would create songs for us when we were going to sleep and waking up, so there was a soundtrack to my life. My siblings, parents, aunties, and cousins were my first audience. Any drama club we could find, I would be driven there by her. She has come to see everything I’ve done and is the first person I talk to when auditions and roles come in. She is truly my creative power source. I’ve been given a gift from her, which she got from her mum, my grandma, who loved acting. I feel like it’s in the blood. They didn’t take their joy in performing on as careers, but saw my joy and said, “You really, really love this.” It was poured into them without restraint, and that has made me approach it in the same way. When I was going in for RADA auditions, my mum used to say, “If you can talk to God, you can talk to anyone. Go in, say your speech, do your thing.” It has stayed with me, that whisper in my ear. It’s armour like no other.

Book The Story tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

This article first appeared in the September 2026 issue of London Theatre Magazine.

Photo credit: Aliyah Odoffin. (Photo by Klara Waldberg). Inset: The Story artwork. (Courtesy of production)