Mojisola Adebayo: Plays Two

I Stand Corrected; Asara and the Sea-Monstress; Oranges and Stones; The Interrogation of Sandra Bland; STARS

Mojisola Adebayo

• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781786828002
• eBook ISBN: 9781786828019
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Index: Social Sciences

'These five plays represent the diverse scope and content of Mojisola's work, and demonstrate an ongoing commitment to an artistic practice that is both stylistically innovative and politically astute.' – Lynette Goddard, from her introduction

The plays collected here showcase Adebayo's varied talents through her unflinching political writing about race, gender, sex and sexuality, feminist history and politics. With settings spanning from South Africa to the Middle East, the United States, a mythical kingdom, South London and outer space, the five plays included are:

I Stand Corrected: a soulful artistic response to the phenomenon of 'corrective' hate rape and murder of lesbians and trans men in South Africa

Asara and the Sea-Monstress: a play for young people about a left-handed girl growing up in a mythical right-handed Kingdom

Oranges and Stones (previously 48 Minutes for Palestine): an exploration of one woman's life under occupation in Palestine

The Interrogation of Sandra Bland: a verbatim play transcribing the dash cam recording of Sandra Bland's arrest into a choral performance by black women

STARS: a space odyssey telling the story of a very old lady who goes into outer space in search of her own orgasm

THE SINISTER ADVENTURES OF…

ASARA AND THE SEA-MONSTRESS

…IN THE KINGDOM OF DEXTER DEXPHORIA

Asara and the Sea-Monstress was researched and developed in 2011/12 through the Birmingham REP and Unicorn Children’s Theatre Emerge programme with Caroline Jester as Dramaturg. The play had the first full staged reading at Albany Theatre on 1 August 2014 with the following creative team:

Creative Team

PRODUCER / WRITER / DIRECTOR MOJISOLA ADEBAYO

DESIGNER RAJHA SHAKIRY

COMPOSERS CONRAD KIRA, JUWON OGUNGBE

MUSICIAN JUWON OGUNGBE

STAGE MANAGER ALISON POTTINGER

MARKETING DEBO ADEBAYO

Performers

WITCH Y ANN AKIN

WITCH Z JACQUI BECKFORD

TOSHUN / MAMA ASARA ANTONIA KEMI COKER

SUITOR / BARRISTER BRUNO CORREIRA

LORD LAND / SPORTS TEACHER DAVID ELLINGTON

PAPA ASARA / FARMER CHARLIE FOLORUNSHO

WITCH X ALISON HALSTEAD

KING DEXTER / YAGI JOSEPH JONES

ASARA AMAKA OKAFOR

NB: All the performers (except Amaka Okafor) also played various other ensemble roles listed below.

With thanks to all the children and young people who gave invaluable feedback on the play between 2012 and 2014. Thank you to Georgia Folorunsho, who stepped in from the audience during the first performance to play the Majit, the cat.

Style

Asara and the Sea-Monstress is envisioned as a multisensory epic storytelling theatre production that re-imagines Yoruba, Danish and Greenlandic myths, folk-tales and fairy stories, with integrated British Sign Language. It is pitched at children, approximately four to ten years old, though it is very much a show for all ages. It is to be played by a multi-skilled, culturally diverse ensemble of actors who also sing, move, use sign language and puppeteer. A key element in storytelling is the integration of projected hand-drawn animation. This may be used to illustrate the setting but is also part of the dramatic action at specific points.

Setting

The play is set in the mythical Kingdom of Dexphoria, in a town on the edge of a forest, close to a river leading to the sea. The location is reminiscent (but not a replica of) Yoruba land in Nigeria during the late colonial era. It is somewhere like historic Oshogbo, a town beside the sacred river and forest of Oshun, the river goddess in Yoruba mythology.

Characters and casting

As the play is set in Nigeria, the cast should go some way to reflecting the African heritage and context of the work, though not to the exclusion of actors from other backgrounds. Where possible, the cast should be culturally diverse, including physical disability and sensory impairment. Actors can be doubled as appropriate. The named characters, in order of appearance, are as follows. Italics indicate where lines are sung or chanted musically.

WITCHES X, Y & Z

All three are in disguise at points, engaged in the whole action. WITCH Z is also the sign language interpreter who expressively interprets the show, interacting with and observing the action in every scene, in role. Though she has the main responsibility for communicating the play in this language, other players can also use sign language where appropriate. WITCH X or Y can be played by a D/deaf actor, as can any of the roles below.

PAPA ASARA

ASARA’s father, called PAPA.

LORD LAND

The landlord of ASARA’s family home and consort to KING DEXTER.

MAMA ASARA

ASARA’s mother, called MAMA.

ASARA

The heroine; seen at birth, age three, six and eleven.

DEXTER

Crown Prince and later King of Dexphoria.

FARMER

He appears in a story told by PAPA to ASARA. The FARMER is father to TOSHUN and he is also LORD LAND’s younger brother. FARMER is played by the same actor as PAPA.

TOSHUN

FARMER’s daughter. TOSHUN is played by the same actor as MAMA. The ‘o’ in TOSHUN is pronounced as the Anglo-English way of saying ‘orange’. TOSHUN transforms into the SEA-MONSTRESS.

SEA-MONSTRESS

A giant puppet operated by the actors who play COURTIER, SUITORS, CHILDREN, DESIGNERS and TOWNSPEOPLE. She is described in the play.

SUITORS

Three suitors to TOSHUN. These actors also play CHILDREN, TOWNSPEOPLE an...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction by Lynette Goddard
• I Stand Corrected
• Asara and the Sea-Monstress
• Oranges and Stones
• The Interrogation of Sandra Bland
• STARS