5 minutes with: Sidney Cole – 'I was told going into acting wasn't a good idea'

Growing up in Basingstoke in the '70s, and as a young black kid, there weren’t really many opportunities. I was told by the career adviser that going into the acting business wasn’t a good idea, and that maybe I should "consider going into the civil service or accounting". But I was undeterred. I was fortunate that my sixth form college took visiting theatres, like Paines Plough, and one of the tutors there encouraged me to apply for drama school.

I suppose that was my big break would be The Mermaid for the RSC. You get some sort of recognition that you’ve made the right choice [with the RSC]. I think that about every job I get. It's an acknowledgement that you’re still relevant in the business – your services or your brand is still needed. There’s always that feeling of joy and once you get the job you realise: "oh, I have to do the work".

They Drink It in the Congo is like a slippery pig – there is so much that Adam Brace [writer] has tried to encapsulate. It's about someone who went to the Congo and saw the atrocities happening there, so came back to the UK and thought "what can I do". She has this idea of doing a festival to commemorate the joy and culture of the Congolese and hopefully give some money back to the country. But she’s confronted by people who say: "actually, you’re a white person trying to do something for our country – we would like that money, we can distribute that back to people back in our country ourselves."

When I see my name in a "world premiere" script, I get a sense of pride. But once it’s done, it’s nice to hand the baton over to someone else. I look forward to seeing other productions of plays I have done. I play two characters in They Drink It…: A black charismatic pastor who is in it for his own ends; and a middle-aged asylum seeker who came over just before the atrocities happened and is trying to assimilate himself into society.

If I could only play one more role, it would be one that I’d written myself. I know it’s in me, and I’m going to write it. After 30 years experience [in acting] and having a life, I think I’ve got a story to tell.

They Drink It in the Congo runs at the Almeida until 1 October.