Goree

A musical play by Matsemela Manaka (1989). Published in Beyond the Echoes of Soweto: Five Plays by Matsemela Manaka, Harwood Academic Publishers, 1998.

Performance history in South Africa
1989: Premièred in 1989 in a production by the Soyikwa group starring Sibongile Khumalo and Nomsa Manaka, directed by John Kani, choreographed by Nomsa Manaka, with music by Matsemela Manaka, Sibongile Khumalo, Motsumi Makhene and Peter Boroko. In September 1989 the same production was staged by the New Federal Theater at the Riverside Church in New York.

2004: It was revived after the playwright’s death (in 1998) in a production directed by Jerry Mofokeng at the Market Theatre in 2004, using many of the members of the original cast, including the playwright’s widow Nomsa Manaka (Nomsa Kupi Manaka) in the lead role.

Subject
The musical tells the story of a young South African dancer who goes in search of the wonders of African dance. Her search becomes a spiritual journey that eventually leads to her own self-discovery. Her travels take her as far as an island off Dakar in Senegal, West Africa. The island is Gorée, steeped in history and notorious for its role in the slave trade. There she meets a wise old African woman who teaches her all about African culture, art, music and dance.

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