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“Discussing about the legendary singer in the nation, it’s similar to talking about a royal figure,” states Alesandra Seutin. Called Mama Africa, Makeba also associated in New York with renowned musicians like Miles Davis and Duke Ellington. Beginning as a young person sent to work to provide for her relatives in Johannesburg, she eventually became a diplomat for the nation, then Guinea’s representative to the UN. An vocal campaigner against segregation, she was married to a activist. This rich life and legacy inspire Seutin’s new production, Mimi’s Shebeen, scheduled for its British debut.

The Blend of Movement, Sound, and Narration

Mimi’s Shebeen merges dance, instrumental performances, and spoken word in a theatrical piece that isn’t a simple biography but utilizes her past, especially her story of exile: after moving to New York in the year, Makeba was barred from her homeland for 30 years due to her anti-apartheid stance. Subsequently, she was banned from the United States after marrying activist her spouse. The performance resembles a ritual of remembrance, a deconstructed funeral – part eulogy, part celebration, part provocation – with a fabulous South African singer the performer leading bringing her music to dynamic existence.

Strength and elegance … Mimi’s Shebeen.

In the country, a informal gathering spot is an under-the-radar venue for home-brewed liquor and animated discussions, often managed by a host. Her parent Christina was a shebeen queen who was arrested for illegally brewing alcohol when Makeba was 18 days old. Incapable of covering the fine, Christina went to prison for six months, taking her baby with her, which is how her eventful life started – just one of the details the choreographer discovered when researching Makeba’s life. “Numerous tales!” exclaims Seutin, when we meet in the city after a show. Seutin’s father is from Belgium and she mainly grew up there before moving to study and work in the UK, where she founded her company Vocab Dance. Her South African mother would sing her music, such as the tunes, when Seutin was a child, and move along in the living room.

Melodies of liberation … the artist sings at Wembley Stadium in 1988.

A ten years back, Seutin’s mother had cancer and was in medical care in the city. “I stopped working for a quarter to look after her and she was constantly requesting the singer. She was so happy when we were singing together,” she remembers. “There was ample time to kill at the hospital so I started researching.” In addition to reading about her victorious homecoming to the nation in the year, after the freedom of the leader (whom she had encountered when he was a legal professional in the 1950s), Seutin discovered that Makeba had been a breast cancer survivor in her youth, that Makeba’s daughter the girl passed away in labor in the year, and that because of her banishment she hadn’t been able to attend her parent’s funeral. “You see people and you look at their success and you forget that they are facing challenges like everyone,” states Seutin.

Creation and Concepts

All these thoughts contributed to the creation of the show (first staged in Brussels in the year). Fortunately, her parent’s treatment was effective, but the concept for the piece was to honor “loss, existence, and grief”. In this context, Seutin pulls out elements of her life story like memories, and nods more generally to the idea of uprooting and loss nowadays. Although it’s not overt in the performance, she had in mind a additional character, a modern-day Miriam who is a migrant. “And we gather as these alter egos of personas linked with the icon to greet this young migrant.”

Rhythms of exile … musicians in Mimi’s Shebeen.

In the performance, rather than being intoxicated by the venue’s home-brew, the skilled performers appear possessed by beat, in harmony with the musicians on stage. Her choreography incorporates multiple styles of dance she has absorbed over the time, including from Rwanda, South Africa and Senegal, plus the international cast’ personal styles, including street styles like the form.

A celebration of resilience … the creator.

Seutin was taken aback to find that some of the younger, non-South Africans in the cast were unaware about the singer. (Makeba passed away in 2008 after having a cardiac event on the platform in the country.) Why should new audiences discover Mama Africa? “I think she would inspire young people to stand for what they are, expressing honesty,” remarks Seutin. “But she did it very gracefully. She expressed something meaningful and then perform a beautiful song.” She wanted to adopt the same approach in this production. “Audiences observe movement and listen to beautiful songs, an aspect of entertainment, but mixed with powerful ideas and moments that hit. This is what I respect about Miriam. Because if you are shouting too much, people may ignore. They retreat. Yet she did it in a manner that you would receive it, and hear it, but still be blessed by her talent.”

• Mimi’s Shebeen is at London, 22-24 October