"Abidjan, 2001: I receive an unlikely offer. I’m invited to stage the play Le Fou du Carrefour ['the crossroads’ madman'] in Lagos, Nigeria, under the title Madness Junction. This urban fable was penned by the great Ivorian playwright Hyacinthe Kakou in 1994, and depicts a frenetic African city invaded by garbage and other toxic waste originating from industrialized countries. The city’s arteries are blocked. Vehicles can no longer move freely, workers can no longer get to their respective occupations… The people grumble. The cops beat them down. The economy is blocked, the country is suffocated. Everyone complains, but no one does anything. One day, one of the inhabitants feels he has had enough and starts cleaning the city. ... With these lyrics in mind, here I am, deep in what Fela called the 'underground spiritual game'. Read: the connection to the world of underground energies… The inalienable spirits who keep on fighting, generation after generation, against the gravediggers of Nigeria and Africa. ..."
Pan African Music (Video)
Lagos
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