An Interview with Iman and Almayra Shah

Twins Iman and Almayra Shah are East Sussex College Lewes Performing Arts Alumni who are already making waves in the industry. The pair featured on an IKEA advert and have had several other high profile ventures in acting and theatre roles.

Iman and Almayra chat to East Sussex College about their time at college, what they’re up to now and what’s to come in the future.

How did your time at College help you become who you are today?

Almayra: “I didn’t realise the benefits [of college, at the time] like boosting your confidence and developing your social skills. It’s also working towards something you want to do in the future - in our case, full-time acting. The College helps you pave a path to get into the industry. It’s the perfect stepping stone. I’d 100% recommend East Sussex College to others!”

Iman: “College was great and so helpful when we had [acting] jobs to go to, because they helped us find ways to get our college work done and all the coursework. That was so important because we were kind of freaking out as we’d have out of college work on set dates, but everyone was helpful and understanding.”

How did your roles in the IKEA TV advert come about?

Almayra: “We have an agency which we’ve been part of for so long! We got to our agent properly for the first time at the IKEA shoot for the TV advert. When we got there everyone was so welcoming and made us feel comfortable. You never know what an audition will go like. Because it’s an advert, there’s a certain type of technique, not necessarily theatrical but not film acting either. We got to speak to a bunch of people on set and develop our contacts too, which was great.”

What else did you get up to during your time at college?

Almayra: “In my third year at college, I got a job on a film set for a Bollywood film, which should come out some time in 2023 - it’s quite a big film! I grew up watching loads of Bollywood films, so I’d seen some of the cast members and I was internally buzzing when I was on set! That was my first proper acting role, rather than being an extra in the background. I then brought my sister over; we went on set together one day and they offered her a job! I was surrounded by people who have been in the industry for years. We were all in a hotel together for a whole week, so we made good friends."

Iman: “We’ve also done a music video for Oliver Sim. That was two days worth of filming. We’ve done a few other music videos too. It’s been an eventful journey so far!”

Is acting something you’ve both always wanted to do?

Iman: “To be honest I knew a lot about acting but at College is where I learned and developed in-depth techniques. I get it, but I want to know why people do certain things and then improve myself. When we got to college, it was great to just watch some of the theatre productions going on.”

Iman: “Before we went to college in Lewes we only did full-acting, but at College we tapped into the more theatrical side of things. We had some great feedback from the school, like ‘if you want to do theatre, you need to be shouting!’. With acting, it’s always a learning curve - you never stop learning.”

What did you study at College?

Almayra: “We studied full-time acting at Lewes College which was pretty much exactly what we wanted to do. All the teachers were really helpful and supportive because we also did an extra year where we had a change of teachers. Overall we had three teachers, and we learned a lot of different things from each teacher. It was very beneficial learning in depth about the theory side. We love practical work but you learn so much more than that. We had a great time at the College, made some great friends and it helped build my confidence for sure."

Iman: “There were some people we met that realised they didn’t want to go into that in the future, but they had a great time studying the course. They’d say ‘I’m glad I did it, I don’t regret it’, and that’s great you want to find yourself and figure out what you want to do. I really appreciate how welcoming the whole college, subject, and teachers were during our time here."

What are your goals for the future?

Almayra: “In terms of my goals and aspirations I definitely want to continue working in the industry. I’d love to start on film acting, maybe go on to be a producer and route out a little bit. But I think the important thing is when you’re in the industry you get given a voice, you gain a following so I’d love to become a motivational speaker at some point. I’d love to help people struggling with mental health issues and raise awareness for certain things. There’s a lot of things I want to do. When you become such a big influencer, you have such a big voice. You can become a role model for people. That’s pretty much my main goal, as well as entertainment. I’d love for someone to look up to me as a role model and set good examples."

Iman: “In future I’d love to do loads of things, like work in the West End. I don’t want to limit myself on anything. I’d do things for free, I want experiences. My main goal is to be part of a successful atmosphere."

Almayra: “Without Iman I think it’d be a different story for me. I’d maybe go down a different route to be honest, but now we’re here our main goal is to make it up there with the big boys in the industry."

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If you’re interested in following in Iman and Almayra’s footsteps, please click here to find all the relevant Performing Arts courses on offer at East Sussex College.