Fela Kuti’s voice resonates in Finland Another Fela Anikulapo-Kuti musical produced in Helsinki, Finland, is at the centre of a renewed burst of enthusiasm for multicultural interaction, writes CHUX OHAI The idea to create a musical based on the life and works of late Afrobeat creator, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, originated from Kitari Mayele, the cultural producer of the International Cultural Centre in Helsinki, Finland. By the end of January, the plan to have the musical, which was already titled ‘Beats of a BArD’s Country’, on the stage had been concluded. But there was an immediate challenge: who would undertake the task of writing the script for production? Eventually, the choice fell on Charles Ogu, a Nigerian writer resident in that country. Aware that he had a difficult task in his hands and not knowing how to set about accomplishing it, he was initially confused. “I was totally amiss in which direction to go as the script writer. How do you mount a Fela Kuti production in a society that is totally foreign to English language, how much more the dialect-pidgin?” he says, in an online interview with our correspondent on Tuesday. Ogu’s dilemma deepened as it became obvious that no concrete plans were afoot. Moroccan born director, Hossni Boudali (who played Fela), whose knowledge of Afrobeat music was indisputable, blundered and thrashed in every direction as he was made to undergo a short drill in Pidgin English and African spirituality. By the time that hurdle was finally scaled, with some assistance from the producer of the musical, Marjo-Sisko Lindstedt , getting the entire cast still posed a serious challenge. Then relief came after a certain Art school in Helsinki indicated an interest in the production. “Suddenly, we had hundreds of people willing to move their bodies and shake them to the rhythm of Afrobeat. And by the time Aija Kauppanen, the choreographer, began synthesizing and threading the dance steps (in concert with the politically charged lyrics of Fela), a ‘comprehensive show’ was already on the way, though without the usual ‘yabis’. “CAISA created a flavour of African communal life, an exotic mix of Somali, Congolese, Gambian and Nigerian variants, complete with their cuisines in different stands. The result was reminiscent of Kalakuta Republic, where things were shared in common and food was eaten in groups,” Ogu says. Most of the volunteers were Finnish students and foreigners – asylum seekers to be precise, whose interests were divergent. While some were genuinely drawn by the desire to learn more about African culture, others saw the show as an opportunity to meet more people and to get integrated in the cultural environment of their hosts. Ogu noted that certain events preceding the final production had already raised public awareness of the musical. For example, the Helsinki Sanomat, Finland’s largest circulating newspaper, published a rave review of the final rehearsal and the FaceBook page of the musical, tagged ‘Felaway’, was daily updated with the events from the rehearsals, even as the public eagerly awaited the show. Still, there was one more hurdle to scale. The organisers of the show realised that there was no official approval from the copyright owners to ‘power’ the show, as it were. Finland’s copyright authority would definitely not allow the show to hold without an approval from from Fela’s family. So, Fela’s daughter and eldest child, Yeni Kuti, was contacted and a formal request to proceed on the production was put to her. After a while, Yeni finally authorised the show and there was jubilation among the cast and production crew of the musical. Tickets were already sold out and over 680 people missed seeing the show for want of tickets. Ogu enthusiastically describes the opening of the show on Friday, April 26, as signifying the birth of a ‘new Afrobeat’ in the Scandinavian country. The successful production of the musical and its overwhelming reception, he adds, spells a positive turn in Afro-Finnish cultural relations. “Now, pidgin English has become a common tongue among the cast of the musical, which comprises Finns and asylum seekers, who wanted to find relevance with the immigration authority by participating in a worthwhile project,” he notes. Satisfied with his role in installing Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, now known among the Finnish as the ‘political musician from Nigeria’, as the symbol of a much-needed cultural affirmation in Finland and in advancing Afrobeat as an art form that “voices a unique and powerful African essentialism”, Ogu is optimistic that the voice of the late legend will, henceforth, rule the Finnish music scene without end.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Jul 2013 11:57:06 +0000