Interview with TJ O'Grady-Peyton of Room Taken

Room Taken is lead by Gabriel Adewusi who plays Isaac, an immigrant who has newly arrived in Ireland and finds himself experiencing homelessness. In a chance encounter he runs into Brid Brennan’s character Victoria, an elderly blind woman who lives in the area. Victoria forgets her bag and Issac follows her home to return it, and in a brief moment of desperation Isaac decides to fake his exit and stay in the big empty house with her just to get a roof above his head.

Director TJ O'Grady-Peyton manages to capture the story in a way that it feels innocent, borderline comedic at times. It is easy to imagine the setting in any number of different ways - threatening, scary, stressful - if given a different frame of reference. By keeping the audience siding with the struggles of Isaac it concentrates the focus on the social issues around homelessness and keeps a warm human touch throughout. It is easy to see where inspiration could have come from given recent years socio economic struggles and political leadership in the United Kingdom. But where most media tend to amplify the results following the issue at large, Room Taken is a breath of fresh air in its humane approach.

Check out our interview below with TJ as we discuss the casting of Gabriel Adewusi, the impeccable sound design and much more!