ANTHEM OF LIFE Returns to Theatre Prospero This June

Edmonton's Theatre Prospero is premiering a production of their engaging Zulu Epic, adapted by Edmonton Playwright Tololwa Mollel. Starting June 21 at Alberta Avenue Community Centre, witness South African Poet Laureate Mazisi Kunene’s Anthem of the Decades: A Zulu Epic, as adapted by Mollel and brought to visual life by multicultural artists collaborating in one of Edmonton's most ground-breaking companies. Experience new, inclusive Canadian Classical Theatre at its birth.

Theatre Prospero's Anthem of Life, Part 1  - presented by TD Bank Group, springs from a Zulu Creation Myth. The Gods create humans - but some decide it was a really bad idea. Plots, terror campaigns, quests and adventures among the Gods, Humans, Animals and Ancestors ensue.

“My fascination with Anthem of the Decades, and inspiration decades later to adapt it, grew out of my introduction, eons ago, to contemporary African literature and oral literature and poetry," says Playwright Tololwa Mollel. With his roots as a theatre actor and dramatist in Canada where he lives and Tanzania where he grew up, Mollel is a theatrical performer of stories he writes for the stage. 

"I had never read anything like 'Anthem of the Decades'," says Artistic Director, and play Director, Mark Henderson. "Its language, images of nature, animals, the earth; the plays of light, wind, sound, water, space, darkness, movement, and silence. I cannot wait for Edmonton audiences to experience our artists’ unique, multicultural approach to sharing this cosmic myth, including gorgeous dance and music from India and Africa, twined with visually stunning masks and lighting."

In recognition of Black History Month, Theatre Prospero announces the current creative team and cast of Anthem of Life, Part 1 - Presented by TD Bank Group.

Directed by Theatre Prospero Artistic Director Mark Henderson; Assistant Director Ameley Quaye; Composers Richard Sseruwagi and Srijan Chatterjee; Choreographers Mpoe Mogale and Enakshi Sinha; Set & Lighting Designer Ami Farrow; Costumes, Properties, Mask Designer Randall Fraser.

Featuring local, national, and international performers Francis Beshel, Sokhana Mfenyana, Mpoe Mogale, Graham Mothersill, Enakshi Sinha. More casting announcements to follow.

Theatre Prospero presented a workshop production of Anthem of Life, Part 1 at the 2017 Thousand Faces Festival and again in a workshop production in 2023.

Theatre Prospero's Anthem of Life, Part 1 - Presented by TD Bank Group is made possible with support from the Canadian Government, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Alberta Government, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the City of Edmonton and the Edmonton Arts Council, the Edmonton Community Foundation, and the production's presenting sponsor, TD Bank Group.

"TD is proud to be the presenting sponsor for Theatre Prospero's upcoming production of Anthem of Life," said Ali Moser, District Vice President, TD Bank Group. "Through the TD Ready Commitment, our corporate citizenship platform, we're supporting arts and cultural initiatives that reflect diverse voices and bring people together."