Because the institution of slavery has been eradicated for over a century in the United States and is rehashed only in history lessons, it can be easy to forget that the practice is continued in other parts of the world. Udu -- a collaborative work from renowned poet Sekou Sundiata and Jazz composer Craig Harris -- explores slavery in contemporary Africa and draw parallels between slaves of past and present.
The setting of Udu is modern day Mauritania, a Western African and Islamic nation, where slavery is practiced as part of a caste system. The Haratin, the Black Moors, serve as slaves for the Beydanes, known as the White Moors. For Sundiata and Harris, the institution of slavery in Africa as well as in the United States links Africans on both continents.
The piece chronicles the story of a young woman, Ntianu, a slave in Mauritania in 1999. The play dramatizes her escape from slavery. As she escapes, Ntianu communicates with an ancestor, who is also a slave, but from the 18th century. The play, which is both improvisational and rehearsed, moves from present reality into a dream space that symbolizes the link between the past and the present. The artists use a great deal of music, both Harris' Jazz compositions and singing voices, to create heightened tension.
The name of the play, Udu, is taken from the name of an African drum that is said to carry the spirit of ancestors. In the spirit, the artists supply constant links between the past and the present, which like the slavery issue is a recurring theme in their work.
In a previous piece, The Return of Elijah, Harris and Sundiata dramatize the origins on the African slave trade. The artists explore the involvement of West Africans in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. As in The Return of Elijah, their latest work Udu, explores the social and human rights issues that surround the institution of slavery.
The piece is based upon two books about slavery in Africa, one contemporary and one historical: "The Interesting Life of Oladah Equian, or Gustavas Vassa, the Africa, 1789" and "The Silent Terror" by Samuel Cotton.
Sundiata and Harris have been collaborators for many years. Both have been recipients of the AUDELCO Award for Excellence in Black Theater. Drawing upon their longtime friendship with each other as well as with author and activist Cotton, Sundiata and Harris fuse their talents to create a piece that blends actual history, auto-biography and fiction. Their pieces address issues not only within the African-American community but also within the wider African Diaspora. Discussions led by Cotton and other activists involved in the struggle to end slavery in Africa have been offered in conjunction with the piece.
Combined with the power of the spoken word and West African costumes and underscored by a minimal set, the play creates a sort of ritual space that weaves in and out of the present and past in order to purge the Diaspora of the ghosts of slavery. In recent years, human rights activists have focused attention on the plight of slaves in various countries around the world. In Udu, Sekou Sundiata and Craig Harris combine activism and social commentary with theater to give yet another voice to a pressing issue.
Udu will take the stage Saturday at 8 p.m. in Spaulding Auditorium.
