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“Discussing about the legendary singer in the nation, it’s like speaking about a royal figure,” explains the choreographer. Known as the Empress of African Song, the iconic artist also associated in New York with renowned musicians like prominent artists. Starting as a young person dispatched to labor to provide for her relatives in Johannesburg, she later became a diplomat for the nation, then the country’s official delegate to the UN. An vocal anti-apartheid activist, she was the wife to a Black Panther. This remarkable life and legacy motivate Seutin’s latest work, the performance, set for its British debut.

The Fusion of Movement, Sound, and Narration

The show combines dance, instrumental performances, and oral storytelling in a stage work that is not a straightforward biodrama but utilizes her past, especially her experience of banishment: after relocating to New York in the year, she was prohibited from her homeland for 30 years due to her anti-apartheid stance. Subsequently, she was banned from the United States after wedding Black Panther activist Stokely Carmichael. The show resembles a ceremonial tribute, a deconstructed funeral – part eulogy, some festivity, some challenge – with the fabulous South African singer Tutu Puoane at the centre bringing her music to dynamic existence.

Strength and elegance … the production.

In the country, a informal gathering spot is an under-the-radar venue for locally made drinks and animated discussions, often presided over by a host. Makeba’s mother Christina was a shebeen queen who was detained for illegally brewing alcohol when Miriam was a newborn. Unable to pay the fine, Christina was incarcerated for six months, bringing her baby with her, which is how Miriam’s remarkable journey began – just one of the things Seutin discovered when researching Makeba’s life. “So many stories!” says Seutin, when they met in Brussels after a performance. Seutin’s father is from Belgium and she was raised there before moving to study and work in the UK, where she founded her dance group Vocab Dance. Her South African mother would perform Makeba’s songs, such as Pata Pata and Malaika, when Seutin was a child, and move along in the living room.

Melodies of liberation … Miriam Makeba performs at Wembley Stadium in 1988.

A decade ago, Seutin’s mother had the illness and was in hospital in London. “I paused my career for three months to take care of her and she was constantly asking for the singer. It delighted her when we were performing as one,” Seutin remembers. “There was ample time to kill at the facility so I began investigating.” As well as learning of her victorious homecoming to South Africa in 1990, after the freedom of Nelson Mandela (whom she had met when he was a legal professional in the era), she discovered that Makeba had been a someone who overcame illness in her youth, that Makeba’s daughter the girl died in childbirth in the year, and that due to her banishment she could not be present at her parent’s memorial. “You see people and you look at their achievements and you forget that they are struggling like anyone else,” says Seutin.

Creation and Themes

These reflections contributed to the creation of the production (first staged in Brussels in 2023). Fortunately, her parent’s therapy was successful, but the idea for the piece was to honor “death, life and mourning”. Within that, Seutin pulls out threads of her life story like memories, and references more generally to the theme of uprooting and loss today. Although it’s not overt in the show, Seutin had in mind a additional character, a contemporary version who is a traveler. “Together, we assemble as these other selves of characters linked with the icon to welcome this newcomer.”

Melodies of banishment … performers in Mimi’s Shebeen.

In the performance, rather than being intoxicated by the shebeen’s local drink, the skilled performers appear taken over by rhythm, in harmony with the players on the platform. Her choreography incorporates various forms of dance she has absorbed over the time, including from Rwanda, South Africa and Senegal, plus the international cast’ personal styles, including urban dances like the form.

Honoring strength … the creator.

Seutin was surprised to find that some of the newer, international in the group were unaware about the artist. (Makeba passed away in 2008 after having a cardiac event on the platform in the country.) Why should new audiences learn about Mama Africa? “In my view she would inspire the youth to advocate what they are, expressing honesty,” remarks Seutin. “But she accomplished this very gracefully. She’d say something poignant and then sing a lovely melody.” Seutin aimed to take the same approach in this production. “Audiences observe dancing and hear beautiful songs, an aspect of entertainment, but mixed with strong messages and instances that hit. This is what I respect about her. Because if you are being overly loud, people may ignore. They retreat. Yet she achieved it in a way that you would receive it, and hear it, but still be blessed by her ability.”

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