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“If you talk about the legendary singer in South Africa, it’s akin to referring about a sovereign,” explains Alesandra Seutin. Referred to as Mama Africa, Makeba additionally associated in New York with jazz greats like prominent artists. Beginning as a young person sent to work to provide for her relatives in the city, she later became a diplomat for Ghana, then the country’s official delegate to the UN. An vocal campaigner against segregation, she was the wife to a Black Panther. Her remarkable story and impact inspire the choreographer’s latest work, Mimi’s Shebeen, scheduled for its British debut.

The Fusion of Movement, Sound, and Narration

Mimi’s Shebeen combines movement, instrumental performances, and spoken word in a stage work that is not a straightforward biodrama but utilizes her past, especially her story of exile: after moving to New York in the year, Makeba was barred from her homeland for three decades due to her opposition to segregation. Later, she was banned from the US after marrying activist her spouse. The performance is like a ceremonial tribute, a reimagined memorial – part eulogy, some festivity, part provocation – with the exceptional vocalist the performer leading reviving her music to vibrant life.

Power and poise … Mimi’s Shebeen.

In South Africa, a informal gathering spot is an under-the-radar gathering place for locally made drinks and lively conversation, often managed by a host. Her parent Christina was a proprietress who was detained for producing drinks without permission when Miriam was 18 days old. Incapable of covering the penalty, Christina was incarcerated for six months, bringing her baby with her, which is how her eventful life began – just one of the things Seutin discovered when studying Makeba’s life. “So many stories!” exclaims Seutin, when we meet in Brussels after a performance. Seutin’s parent is from Belgium and she was raised there before relocating to learn and labor in the United Kingdom, where she founded her company the ensemble. Her parent would perform her music, such as the tunes, when she was a youngster, and dance to them in the home.

Songs of freedom … Miriam Makeba performs at Wembley Stadium in 1988.

A decade ago, her parent had cancer and was in hospital in London. “I paused my career for three months to look after her and she was constantly requesting Miriam Makeba. She was so happy when we were singing together,” she recalls. “There was ample time to pass at the facility so I started researching.” In addition to learning of her victorious homecoming to South Africa in 1990, after the freedom of Nelson Mandela (whom she had encountered when he was a legal professional in the 1950s), she found that she had been a someone who overcame illness in her youth, that her child Bongi died in labor in the year, and that because of her banishment she hadn’t been able to be present at her parent’s funeral. “You see people and you look at their achievements and you forget that they are struggling like anyone else,” states Seutin.

Creation and Themes

These reflections went into the making of the show (first staged in Brussels in 2023). Thankfully, Seutin’s mother’s treatment was successful, but the concept for the piece was to honor “death, life and mourning”. In this context, Seutin highlights threads of her life story like flashbacks, and nods more broadly to the theme of displacement and dispossession today. Although it’s not explicit in the show, Seutin had in mind a additional character, a modern-day Miriam who is a migrant. “And we gather as these other selves of characters connected to the icon to greet this newcomer.”

Melodies of banishment … musicians in the show.

In the performance, rather than being inebriated by the shebeen’s local drink, the multi-talented performers appear taken over by beat, in synthesis with the musicians on stage. Seutin’s choreography includes multiple styles of dance she has learned over the years, including from Rwanda, South Africa and Senegal, plus the international cast’ own vocabularies, including street styles like krump.

Honoring strength … the creator.

She was surprised to find that some of the newer, international in the group didn’t already know about the singer. (Makeba passed away in the year after having a cardiac event on stage in Italy.) Why should new audiences discover Mama Africa? “I think she would inspire young people to advocate what they believe in, speaking the truth,” remarks the choreographer. “However she accomplished this very gracefully. She expressed something meaningful and then sing a beautiful song.” Seutin wanted to adopt the similar method in this production. “Audiences observe movement and listen to melodies, an element of enjoyment, but mixed with strong messages and instances that resonate. This is what I admire about her. Because if you are being overly loud, people won’t listen. They retreat. But she did it in a way that you would receive it, and hear it, but still be blessed by her ability.”

• Mimi’s Shebeen is at the city, 22-24 October