| Spillway Review Essays Main Menu Contents |
Material presented on the Spillway Review website may not be copied or reproduced without permission. For information, contact the editors at editors@spillwayreview.com. | |
|
Samarkand
Reviewed by Bea Gyimah With African-garbed orators, multicultural dancers, and music with an international flair, Samarkand: the Lyrics, Rhythms and Spirit of the Marketplace was no ordinary poetry reading. Presented at the Manship Theater of the Shaw Center for the Performing Arts March 11-13, 2005, the show was based on Wole Soyinka’s prize-winning poetic work Samarkand and Other Markets I Have Known. The Manship Theater was not the only venue immersed in Soyinka’s masterpiece. The entire first floor of the crystal-glassed structure and outside area were converted into an open market with a live procession to introduce spectators to the theme of the performance. The procession welcomed outsiders and patrons with lively stilt walkers, children’s gospel choir, Caribbean musicians, Native American dancers, multicultural hip-hop coalition, Indian dancers and several other amazing groups. The rhythmic motions and dances choreographed by London-based dance director, Peter Badejo, began the show. The dazzling dancers were a spectrum of nationalities which included Indian, Caribbean, African and Arabian performers with a simply purpose: to captivate with the whimsical beauty. Combined with the pulsating sounds of the Aña Gueré Bata Drum Ensemble and the work of master composer Tania León, the performance was able to take its Baton Rouge audience into exotic and engaging faraway lands. Three orators/speakers read the poetry of Soyinka dressed in traditional African garb as the poetry came to life with energetic dance as well as silent actors/models. The performances transported the audience, but also made them feel the warmth and simple pleasure of the markets Soyinka so brilliantly re-creates in his writing. These markets are a Mecca for cultural diffusion that beam with civility and respect shared among its traders, merchants and buyers, but sadly these serene environments are soon contaminated by military control and capitalism. Overall, Southern Crossroads, a merging of Louisiana State University and Southern University’s creative talents, was able to respectfully portray this work, guided by LSU faculty members Femi Euba, assistant director, and Michelle Zerba, producer/organizer. Soyinka, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize for Literature, was present for the production. The first African to win the prize presented a humble figure amidst the pageantry interpreting his work. |