A joyful piece of Sierra Leonean ‘Agbo Play’ theatre is coming to Tobacco Factory

Posted on: 03 Jul 2024

In Native Wit, two award-winning performers conjure up drums, dance, song and clowning to create a spirit of playfulness and joy.

 

Native Wit will run at the Tobacco Factory, in The Snug, from Wednesday 10 until Sunday 14 July 2024.

 

Together, Ayodele Scott and David Evans call forth a spirit of playfulness, love and joy, stitching together fragments of their respective childhoods in Africa to create a dazzling patchwork. This multidisciplinary piece sees the performers use their decades of experience to combine drumming, dance, singing and clowning with physical theatre.

 

Grab your tickets from the Tobacco Factory website, HERE.

 

 

Both artists were born in British Colonial West Africa during the 1950s – Ayodele in Freetown, Sierra Leone and David in Ibadan, Nigeria – and Native Wit sees the award-winning pair unite for an authentic piece of ‘Agbo Theatre’.

 

Ayodele’s ancestors were slaves. Having fought for the British against the Americans in their war of independence, Ayo’s Krio forebears were given ‘freedom’ and shipped via Bristol to West Africa. But they were left with “No native language, no native culture, just ‘Native Wit’”.

 

The ‘Krio’ theatre style used in the play originates from the streets, yards and compounds of Freetown in Sierra Leone. In Native Wit, the two performers animate six formative stories from their childhoods in West Africa utilising a blend of drums, dance, song, clown work and physical theatre.

 

Audience members will draw these tales at random from a market trader’s basket and the performers will stitch these childhood memories together to formulate a patchwork unique to each performance.

 

Expect a hilarious and humane work that is full of love. In a world where the legacy of slavery and colonialism combine to threaten indigenous cultures and natural environments, this piece of 'Agbo'-style storytelling reminds us that, despite our pasts, we can live simple and harmonious lives.

Native Wit will run at the Tobacco Factory, in The Snug, from Wednesday 10 until Sunday 14 July 2024 with performances taking place between 7 PM and 8 PM – buy tickets HERE.

 

Find out more from Ayodele Scott and David Evans’ website.

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