Timmika Ramsay on her RSC debut in 'All Is But Fantasy'

When were you on boarded onto this production, and what was that initial process like for you?

I don't remember what time, maybe around July/August time. It wasn't very clear what it [the production] was about, but I knew that Whitney White was working on it. And I was like, “Okay, she's quite a big deal.”

I've never worked with a Black woman as a director. So I thought, “Oh, that would be really cool to do in my career.” It was a self tape, and I don't know how I got a recall, but I did, and so I went into the room for my recall, which was like an experience that I've never had before. Whitney was on Zoom and Charlotte Sutton was there, who is Casting. 

I knew that it was about an ambitious woman trying to make it to the end of these plays and, what spoke to me, was ambition versus love or can you have both? Can you be ambitious and still make it and have everything that you would like to have?

I'm a mum, and that spoke to me. I was like, “Oh, I'm really ambitious, but being a mum in this industry is quite difficult, because I feel like I'm often battling with like, do I stay with my child, or do I go and do these crazy jobs and not see him as much?”

So in the room, we went through it all, and we went through the material, and we spoke. And I got really emotional in the room speaking about my son, and she [Whitney] has a two year old son as well. And I was crying by the end of it all.

We had another recall, they call it a movement call. But we were dancing, and my neck was hurting, my thighs were hurting. I was like, “Bro, I'm not a dancer.” 

All of the black women in the room who were auditioning were amazing, like at the top of their game. So it was just a really lovely room to be in, because I've never been in a room with like that many amazing black, talented women. And so I was like, “Yeah, this will be fun.” And then I got offered the role, it's been an absolute whirlwind. Crazy, been crazy.

Renee Lamb, Timmika Ramsay and Georgina Onuorah in All is But Fantasy. Credit: Marc Brenner

How has All Is But A Fantasy stretched you as an actor?

I always say I'm not a dancer, so when I say that this is the hardest movement I've ever done in my career.

I think the audition scared us a little bit. Then, when we came into the room, it wasn’t as intense. Now, I’m the dance captain. It's hilarious. 

They asked me to be the dance captain, and I just absolutely can't believe the switch around. But the process has been very interesting. I've never worked this way before. A lot of musicals that I've done [previously], they've already been set up. So I come in and I'm taught exactly what I need to do. Whereas this has been much more of a workshop kind of vibe. A lot of devising. So there's a lot of improv, and a lot of using my body in a certain way. 

I've had to let go of control a little bit in this process, and that's been a lot that's been quite difficult for me, because I'm usually like, “Okay, just tell me exactly where I need to stand, and I will make it believable.” Whereas now I'm using a part of my brain that is like, “Okay, create this. How does that make me feel?”

It's been challenging, but I've loved it, and I've definitely grown and been stretched as a performer. 

This has been performed previously in the United States, but how are you approaching it with fresh eyes for a UK audience?

It's new here. I think [Whitney White] has done it a few times in New York, but she's been developing it for a long time. So she's coming in hot on it. She's straight in. There's no, like, breaking the ice. She's, like, all this feeling and emotion and character. And we were like, “I don't even know what my character does yet.” 

Timmika Ramsay and Daniel Krikler in All Is But Fantasy Credit: Marc Brenner

Can you tell us about the character you play?

So I'm witch three, and I love being a witch with Renee and Georgina. It's like they're my soul sisters. Man, we've really become like a unit. We're like one organism. We move together and we're all knowing. 

We've tried to step away from a traditional witch, you know, like the way that a witch would be in Macbeth.. We've kind of gone down the route of looking at Black women and voodoo, different kinds of spiritualism, and that's been really interesting to tap into. It feels a bit more centered and a bit more real, and something that we could kind of relate to a little bit more. 

But my character, she's very fun. She goes on a journey. My character in the beginning, is very optimistic, looking towards the future. How can we help change things? How can we move things forward? And very positive. As we go on the journey through the four plays, she begins to get a little bit tainted and starts to become quite negative. She's super playful, and she's cheeky. She's a bit like me, I think. 

Georgina, she's got an attitude, she'll cuss you out, and she’s intelligent, and Renee, she's almost like a mother figure, who knows everything. 

Why is it so important to centre the women in these stories?

I studied Shakespeare at drama school, and, it was okay, but it was, it was never that fun, but, but I also know that this play is challenging, how we think about these plays. 

Just talking about how, I've always wanted to be Lady Macbeth, but we broke down how many scenes she has, and like, the fact that she is there to aid Macbeth's story. And it's not really her story. It's not about her. And these are characters that I've wanted to be so badly. And it's like, we are never at the centre of these stories, really. 

So it's just like changing the mindset and how we've been conditioned to be like, this is the best role that you could ever have. And, of course, it is great. But why do we love these roles so much? They don't survive, they're powerful women, yeah, sure, but they don't survive, they don't get to the end, and we're just there to, you know, help the man's story. 

We've even spoken about Othello and how dangerous and violent it is, but that's never really explored or talked about. It's usually about, you know, racism, which, of course, is a big thing, but never about how the women end up dead.

What has working with Whitney been like?

She is nothing like I thought she would be. She is crazy, amazing. She is a genius. I don't know how she's doing it all, like writing, composing, performing in and directing. She's doing so so much.

She's constantly changing things, constantly rewriting, editing, taking out. It's been really inspiring to watch, especially because she's a mum as well. I'm like, "Wow, she's doing it all right now and it's amazing." Her ear is incredible. I can't believe that she's written all of these amazing songs. I'm like, "I need them on my on the radio." They're insane and beautiful songs to perform and sing.

It's just been so great working with her, and like watching her process. There are moments where I'm like, "Girl, you want me to walk." But it always works. It always works out.

This journey, I've really had to put my trust in Whitney as the director. And sometimes it feels overwhelming because there is a lot of work to do, and she's quite chill and like taking her time. She is a force. I feel very, very blessed to be able to be in the same space with her, and she really cares about the room that that she's working in, and she wants it to be a safe space. And so that's been really, really lovely.

I can't wait for everyone to hear music, because the music is so good.

All Is But Fantasy plays in The Other Place, Stratford-Upon-Avon until 21 February 2026