In Africa, the tradition of respecting our elders and their role as gatekeepers of knowledge and community values is pivoted in our storytelling.
Theatre, as grounds that reverberate our narratives, often personifies as “the mouth that eats salt and pepper”, drawing from Prof. Ama Ata Aidoo’s pair of elderly man and woman characters who have “tasted the bitterness and spice” of life.
Chief Moomen’s spectacular 150 cast and crew theatrical production ‘Mansa Musa and the Trail of Lost Gold, The Prelude’ must then embody the “elders” for its role in rekindling the stories in us all, telling an epic tale in which a group of young heroes and heroines embark on a fascinating adventure back in time to discover the lost gold of Mansa Musa, an ancient West African ruler of the Mali Empire, said to be, possibly, the richest man to have ever lived.
Reminiscing the anguish of the young Moomen’s desire for success, PaJohn Dadson sat among the privileged few who got to see the Accra premiere of the full production, the first in a series of world premieres expected to show across Africa, Europe, America, The Middle East and Asia.
A new date in March (potentially 15) has been set for a rerun of the stage musical, ‘Mansa Musa and the Trail of Lost Gold, The Prelude’, that can be described as the lifelong dream of the young man who has made it possible to bring forth his cherished vision to fruition. When he started earnestly talking about his Mansa Musa project, which story is to be told with the evocative elements of light, colour, sound, chorus, music, dance and drama as far back as 2018, it seemed like he was just a “young man in a hurry”, dreaming of raising a whopping US$2million for his fantasy. But, here was a determined young man “in a hurry” who had a vision and persuaded every fibre of challenge within himself as well as around him that he faced to join him in his quest to manifest his dream.
In 2018, realising that his dream meant raising in excess of US$2million to manifest, he prophesied in a Facebook post: “2 million dollars, I receive it! Mansa Musa production, we have started!” Seven gruelling years later, here I am, seated at the National Theatre, anxious to witness the first night of the dream’s manifestation to commence.
Years before, Moomen had begun talking about how Africa needed to elevate its storytelling to a more global audience. When the Black Panther story came out, and seeing how wrapped up the movie resonated across the world, Moomen lamented on the difficulty of finding investors willing to invest in the arts in Africa.
But so much did he believe in his convictions that he levitated in his vision, only believing on “when” it would happen and never on the “if” it would.
Hear him. “If there is any evidence that my Mansa Musa production will triumph, then let us just take a look at the ‘Black Panther’ phenomenon. People are tired of the stories of poverty and disease and squalor about Africa and Africans which forms the dominant narratives in the media. We want to see more empowering and edifying stories that can elevate black consciousness and inspire hope. A Mansa Musa story – about the wealthiest man to have ever lived, of a great African civilisation – will feed into this new narrative of an Africa and a black race that can and will triumph. My vision for the production is that it will not just be about Mansa Musa alone; he is only the bait. It will be a glorious celebration of African heritage. We need to seriously begin to capture our young minds and inspire their thinking. We need to start creating a new African civilisation.”
It is this conviction that Moomen’s vision was focused on; and like making it up an arduous climb to the peak of a mountain, Moomen revelled in each step, after every step, and here we are today!
On the National Theatre stage, Moomen successfully employs all the tools of his convoluted narrative to make it up to the peak, provoking all of us sitting in the audience to applaud often and, at the end, incessantly.
When he made his curtain call at the end of the show, he rushed to the front, just jumping up and down like a child who had just been told by his parents what a good job he had done; finally “nailing” something he had been trying to accomplish. I just stood there, among the drowning cheers, reminiscing those early years and conversations he and I – and incidentally, our newly-minted Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Hon. Dzifa Gomashie – had had. I saw this day coming and today, I just beamed! What a show!
Sub-themes of romance and conflict are always a kicker in attracting attention from an audience. And introducing these in various contexts in the two-and-a-half-hour production, blending it with a most dazzling set and delightful detailing of costumes and choreography, Moomen with his men and women, were able to bring the ancient story from West Africa’s history to life.
Three seats away from me, a boy – barely 10 years – sat on edge, his eyes glistening, following each cast member, each movement and each moment, his mouth never closing. He repeated every line uttered, and sang every lyric, as if he already knew them. I remembered behaving in similar manner when around that same age as he was now; my mum had taken my eldest sister and me to see Andrew Lloyd Webber stage production of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ back in Paris, where her sister lived at the time many years ago. Such an experience that has never left me.
For me, Moomen’s interjection with this stage production comments on the events of our society today and represents the collective voice of the community; essentially on how we must make the wisdom and experience of the village elders who having tasted “Salt and pepper” – the complexities and hardships of life, salt signifying bitterness and pepper, spice – direct us to focus on those things that are inherently ours!
And what is inherently ours? Those things that are most important to us, from our narratives no less, to our food ways, our fashion, our song and dance! Our industry! Let us connect the dots and realise that even our entertainment is currency! Because it stems from our craft and art, our imagination that is all inherently our own. Those things that create the jobs that make our society great, accentuating our security and prosperity! Storytelling is currency! The creative arts is a minefield.
The opening night of Mansa Musa was nothing short of amazing. From the energetic dancing to the clever dialogue, and melodic music and theatrical special effects – all of which gave the audience a thrill. One of four instalments, ‘The Prelude’, premiered last Friday, has set the stage for more exciting performances to come. And I can’t wait!
A unique African musical theatre such as we saw, opens up the imagination of many youths, from musicians to actors to artists to everyone who dreams, including even our elders.
Is it possible that this man’s manifestation can inspire many others to become more optimistic about making their dreams come true in Africa? In Ghana?
The power of focus and determination runs astride this production. Belief in oneself and one’s ability to get up and face the challenges of their “every day”.
This musical is a product of The Mansa World, an ambitious storytelling project seeking to produce epic blockbuster content on African history and heritage for the global market. It is produced by Bambu Heritage Productions, promoted by Masala Corporation,s upported by Oakwood Green Africa and partnered by UNESCO.
‘Mansa Musa and the Trail of Lost Gold, The Prelude’ is not only a thrilling story and stage production but also a great inspiration and hope for African theatre.
Editor’s Note: This article was first published in Bentsifi’s column in the Business & Financial Times newspaper.
