tiata delights 08
Six wonderful new African plays and a sensational Concert
Monday 28 July to Saturday 2 August 2008
Almeida Theatre
Almeida Street, London N1 1TA
Booking: 020 7359 4404 or visit www.almeida.co.uk
A week-long presentation of new work from emerging and established African writers. Six plays showcased as performance readings with live musical accompaniment from James Lascelles and overseen by Tiata Fahodzi’s Artistic Director Femi Elufowoju, jr.
Now in its fourth year, Tiata Delights is proven to be the place to catch the next generation of rising stars and their premieres for the British stage.
Previous festivals have featured Oladipo Agboluaje, Lucian Msamati and Michael Bhim, whose festival plays have later been produced by Soho Theatre, Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, Talawa, and, most recently, Levi David Addai (Oxford Street at the Royal Court Theatre).
THE PLAYS
Monday 28 July and Tuesday 29 July at 7.30pm
Double Bill 1
IN TIME by Bola Agbaje (Nigeria)
Two young lovers are forcibly separated, Years later their children from subsequent marriages meet. And fall in love. Will pain and hatred from the past stalk a new generation?
Directed by Femi Elufowoju, jr
THE BURIAL by Francis Aidoo (Ghana)
Following the sudden death of their father in Ghana, three sons and their bereaved mother gather for supper in her London home. The evening is set for amusing and startling revelations.
Directed by Syan Blake
Wednesday 30 July and Thursday 31 July at 7.30pm
Double Bill 2
LIQUID GOLD by Yvonne Dodoo (Ghana)
Hours before a man stands trial for drink driving, his family attempt to piece together the missing fragments from their lives. But, on the doorstep, another bomb is ticking.
Directed by Gbemisola Ikumelo
BURNED TO NOTHING by Rex Obano (Nigeria)
Delta State, Nigeria, 2003. A 16 year old boy is abducted by militia resisting the rape of their country by multinational corporations. His father searches the charred landscape and discovers more than he can bear.
Directed by Femi Elufowoju, jr
Friday 1 August at 7.30pm and Saturday 2 August at 6pm
Double Bill 3
PANDORA’S BOX by Ade Solanke (Nigeria)
A British-born Nigerian mother, accompanies her streetwise son on his first trip to her homeland but then wrestles with whether to leave him there or return him to the ‘battlefields’ of urban London.
Directed by Nick Oshikanlu
WALKING WATERFALL by Nii Ayikwei Parkes (Ghana)
A bustling market place in scorching hot Accra. Kwame is a vendor of exquisite artefacts and a bashful romantic poet. His ultimate desire is to serenade the woman in his dreams. One morning she walks in.
Directed by Femi Elufowoju, jr
THE CONCERT
Saturday 2 August 2008 at 9pm
For one night only, a troupe of Africa’s best musicians and vocalists resident in the UK storms the Almeida stage.
In a cauldron of hot pulsating percussive rhythm, reminiscent of the continent’s big band experience, James Lascelles, Tiata Delights’ resident composer joins Sierra-Leone’s teenage harmonica sensation Leon Maddy. London’s contemporary-gospel funk outfit GK Real combine their eclectic vocals with African classical music ensemble’s Tunde Jegede, ending with the fascinating drumming and crushing war cries of ancestral roots delivered by the amazing Jamiroquai instrumentalist Sola Akingbola.
Femi Elufowoju, jr directs an 80 minute extravaganza.
TICKETS
Double Bills £10 / Concert £10
Tiata Deluxe Pass - see everything* for just £35
*any three double bills + concert
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