Details

'Forty years ago, my homeland of Nigeria ripped herself apart. Biafra, the Land of the Rising Sun, was born in blood and fire. Her light shone across the world. Her flames engulfed us all ...' BEN OKAFOR Ben Okafor became a child soldier aged 13 when his Igbo homeland, the secessionist state of Biafra, was invaded by Nigeria in July 1967. He was the sole survivor of his Boys' Platoon. Forty years on to the month, this internationally acclaimed roots-reggae artist teams up with award-winning writer-director Justin Butcher (Madness Of George Dubya, Scaramouche Jones) to tell his own story of miraculous preservation, by turns harrowing, bizarre and comic, through the three years of brutal war and famine that shocked and changed the world. Performed by Ben himself in narrative, song and solo drama, accompanied by a local Nigerian community choir from Manchester, this production features the powerful photographic projections of veteran war photographer Romano Cagnoni. In a compelling and emotionally charged tour de force, African storytelling interweaves physical theatre with archive footage, Igbo chorales and the irrepressible hi-life music of West Africa to re-create Ben's childhood journey of initiation through the fields and fortunes of war.

Creatives/Company

Author: Ben Okafor
Company(s): Passion Pit Theatre, Theatre Tours International