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“When you speak about Miriam Makeba in the nation, it’s like speaking about a sovereign,” states the choreographer. Referred to as Mama Africa, Makeba also associated in Greenwich Village with jazz greats like prominent artists. Starting as a young person sent to work to support her family in the city, she later became a diplomat for the nation, then Guinea’s representative to the UN. An vocal anti-apartheid activist, she was the wife to a activist. This remarkable life and legacy inspire Seutin’s new production, Mimi’s Shebeen, set for its British debut.

The Blend of Movement, Sound, and Narration

Mimi’s Shebeen merges movement, instrumental performances, and spoken word in a stage work that is not a straightforward biodrama but draws on Makeba’s history, especially her experience of banishment: after moving to the city in 1959, she was barred from her homeland for 30 years due to her anti-apartheid stance. Later, she was excluded from the US after marrying activist Stokely Carmichael. The show is like a ritual of remembrance, a reimagined memorial – some praise, some festivity, some challenge – with a exceptional South African singer the performer leading bringing Makeba’s songs to dynamic existence.

Power and poise … Mimi’s Shebeen.

In South Africa, a informal gathering spot is an unofficial gathering place for home-brewed liquor and lively conversation, usually presided over by a shebeen queen. Her parent the matriarch was a shebeen queen who was arrested for illegally brewing alcohol when Makeba was a newborn. Unable to pay the penalty, Christina was incarcerated for half a year, bringing her baby with her, which is how her remarkable journey began – just one of the things the choreographer discovered when researching her story. “Numerous tales!” exclaims she, when they met in the city after a performance. Seutin’s parent is Belgian and she was raised there before relocating to learn and labor in the UK, where she established her company Vocab Dance. Her South African mother would sing Makeba’s songs, such as Pata Pata and Malaika, when she was a youngster, and dance to them in the home.

Melodies of liberation … the artist performs at the venue in the year.

A decade ago, Seutin’s mother had cancer and was in hospital in the city. “I stopped working for three months to take care of her and she was constantly requesting the singer. It delighted her when we were performing as one,” she remembers. “There was ample time to kill at the hospital so I began investigating.” As well as learning of her victorious homecoming to South Africa in 1990, after the freedom of the leader (whom she had encountered when he was a young lawyer in the 1950s), Seutin found that she had been a breast cancer survivor in her youth, that Makeba’s daughter the girl died in labor in the year, and that because of her exile she hadn’t been able to attend her own mother’s funeral. “You see people and you focus on their achievements and you forget that they are struggling like anyone else,” states Seutin.

Creation and Themes

These reflections contributed to the creation of the production (first staged in the city in the year). Thankfully, Seutin’s mother’s therapy was effective, but the concept 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 nowadays. Although it’s not explicit in the show, Seutin had in mind a second protagonist, a contemporary version who is a traveler. “And we gather as these alter egos of personas linked with Miriam Makeba to greet this young migrant.”

Rhythms of exile … musicians in Mimi’s Shebeen.

In the performance, rather than being inebriated by the venue’s home-brew, the multi-talented dancers appear taken over by beat, in harmony with the players on the platform. Her choreography includes various forms of dance she has learned over the years, including from African nations, plus the international cast’ personal styles, including urban dances like krump.

Honoring strength … the creator.

She was surprised to find that some of the newer, international in the cast were unaware about the artist. (Makeba passed away in 2008 after having a heart attack on the platform in the country.) Why should new audiences discover the legend? “I think she would motivate the youth to stand for what they believe in, expressing honesty,” remarks the choreographer. “But she did it very gracefully. She expressed something meaningful and then sing a beautiful song.” Seutin aimed to take the similar method in this production. “We see movement and hear beautiful songs, an aspect of enjoyment, but mixed with strong messages and instances that resonate. This is what I respect about her. Since if you are being overly loud, people may ignore. They back away. But she did it in a manner that you would accept it, and understand it, but still be blessed by her ability.”

• The performance is at the city, the dates