‘Fela… Arrest the music!’ – a musical on the life and times of the legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti – is billed to show at the MUSON centre this weekend.
The piece which was written by Paul Ugbede and produced by Declassical Arts and Entertainment Company in collaboration with MUSON Centre with permission from the estate of Fela, is scheduled for the opening of the 20th anniversary of the MUSON Festival and to feature as part of the 2016 ‘Felabration’ programme.
A release by the directorial crew signed by Ayo Ajayi said: “The work expresses the daily struggles of an African man; how he is been subjected to the forces of suppression and humiliation from the western world, his own government, the society et al.”
The release said: “‘Fela: Arrest the Music!’ is not just another treatise on Fela (there is a catalogue of them); it is a reflection on our daily lives as Africans; it is a narrative of the lives we live everyday and our struggle to rise above ourselves.
“It is not just a musical; it is a call — for both leaders and followers to rise above primordial lifestyle drawing Africa backward to a more forward thinking continent where every man is free to express himself or herself.”
Featuring an all Nigerian cast and crew, including popular and top-notch performers, such as Gideon Okeke, Arese Emokpae (The Voice), Kpeace (Nigerian Idol winner), Olumide Dada Joshua Alabi, Bola Haastrup-Atitebi and Dolapo Philips among others.
The story tells of how a band of soldiers came to Fela’s Afro Club to arrest him. It was during one of Fela’s scintillating performances, one of his numerous abrasions with the men in uniform. Fela’s music was blaring from strategic horns. And the soldiers came; loads upon loads of them, one thousand in all.
As Fela crooned and danced away in ecstatic abandon, the soldiers, also in ecstasy of the potency of their weapons, jumped down from their vehicles in commando style and swooned down on the club.
