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As a theatre show celebrating South Africa’s music returns to Dubai, Rob Garratt asks if one musical can really capture the country’s chequered history.
The music of South Africa has long fascinated the wider world. While musicophiles fawn over the Afrobeat of ’70s Nigeria and the desert blues of Saharan nomads, it’s South Africa’s mix of township jive and Western pop which have translated best to airwaves across the globe. Ashleigh Bradford says it’s no coincidence the international focus on the country’s political struggles has gone hand in hand with an appreciation for its music. ‘South African [music] is the most well known of all African music, because it’s a country that’s in the political spotlight,’ says the theatre production manager. ‘It’s very infectious music, very happy, it’s got something you can’t really describe' . It’s those joyous sounds that will be celebrated in Under African Skies, a musical which uses a 14-piece live band to chart the country’s musical history, beginning a four-night run at Madinat Theatre on Wednesday June 26. Starting in the 1940s, the evening opens with a solo pennywhistle performance, as was common in the townships at the time, before moving through kwela jazz and onto the heyday of South African music, including crossover hits such as Miriam Makeba (nicknamed ‘Mama Africa’), Yvonne Chaka Chaka (‘Princess of Africa’), Johnny Clegg (‘The White Zulu’) and Mango Groove.
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