Sundance Institute

Institute History

Description

Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941-1995) was hanged by the Nigerian dictatorship for his activism on behalf of his Nigerian Ogoni people. The original text is a condemned man’s last letter to his loved one. Mpoto and his team are adapting this text and using his poetic style in Kiswahili to combine it with slam poetry and storytelling to talk about corruption and abuse of power in contemporary Africa. Partnering with UK-based director Rubasingham of the Tricycle Theatre, the team will develop Sundance Institute’s first all-Kiswahili theatre project. Africa Kills Her Sun was previously workshopped at the 2011 Theatre Lab on Manda Island in Kenya as part of the Theatre Program’s charter Lab for East African artists and at the 2011 Theatre Lab at The Banff Centre.

Credits

Dramaturg
- Roberta Levitow
Adapted by
- Mrisho Mpoto
- Irene Sanga
Performer
- Mrisho Mpoto
- Irene Sanga
Composer
- Elidady Msangi
Director
- Indhu Rubasingham
Based on the writings of
- Ken Saro-Wiwa

As you use our Online Archives, please understand that the information presented from Festivals, Labs, and other activities is taken directly from official publications from each year. While this information is limited and doesn't necessarily represent the full list of participants (e.g. actors and crew), it is the list given to us by the main film/play/project contact at the time, based on the space restrictions of our publications. Each entry in the Online Archives is meant as a historical record of a particular film, play, or project at the time of its involvement with Sundance Institute. For this reason, we can only amend an entry if a name is misspelled, or if the entry does not correctly reflect the original publication. If you have questions or comments, please email [email protected]