The grand tour: one playwright's quest to set foot in every African country before turning 60

The Guardian

13-06-2025

At 53, I made myself a promise. Having built a reputation as the go-to authority on African culture in UK theatre, I realised with uncomfortable clarity that my knowledge barely scratched the surface of the continent's vast complexity. What followed was an extraordinary seven-year quest to visit all 54 African nations before my 60th birthday – a journey that would ultimately transform into my ambitious new theatrical project, 54.60 Africa.
The catalyst came during a 2015 world tour with theatre company Complicité that took me to Cape Town. Standing in the shadow of Table Mountain, I confronted a paradox that had long troubled me: despite my Nigerian ancestry and theatrical expertise, my understanding of Africa remained frustratingly limited. Cape Town offered me an opportunity to begin addressing that knowledge gap, and one I was determined to seize.
The journey that followed defied every preconception I held. In a hotel lodge in Mbabane in what was then Swaziland, a receptionist's eyes widened with incredulity at my arrival – a reaction that spoke volumes about the rarity of Black guests. Yet it was the gardener the next morning who provided the trip's emotional core, abandoning his work to sit beside me, explaining how long it had been since he'd conversed with another 'brother' on the premises beyond his own visiting family.
These encounters multiplied across 54 nations, each challenging global narratives of crime, instability and economic hardship that I had unconsciously accepted. Instead, I found peace in Ghana's bustling districts, tranquility along Tanzania's roads and avant garde modernity in airports across the continent; I was blown away by Mali's Modibo Keita International. Even in Khartoum, months before civil war erupted, I stood on Mac Nimir Bridge absorbing the capital's calm while admiring the translucent Blue Nile – a moment that would later haunt me as I processed how quickly human-made turbulence could create mass displacement.
The process of transforming my personal odyssey into a theatrical production began with a conversation. In 2007, I accompanied my friend Ivan Cutting on a research trip to Kenya for a production that never materialised. A decade later, when I mentioned writing a book about my travels, Ivan immediately suggested a play should follow.
What emerged at Omnibus theatre in south London, and later at the National Theatre Studio, was something far more complex than I had expected. Early workshops revealed a troubling tendency: the story centred on me rather than Africa. 54.60 Africa was completed on my 60th birthday – 31 October 2022 – in Bangui, Central African Republic – exhausted, but ecstatic and proud of the feat. This milestone intervened to shift the focus, transforming my production into an exploration of how Africa interrogated the African I claimed to be.
This realisation led to a crucial creative decision: representing my journey through 11 fictional characters rather than direct autobiography. Africa is more than one person, and I should never be bigger than our mighty continent. The fictional ensemble allowed me to convey collective experiences while platforming Africa as a source of progress, inspiration and immense dignity.
The production reunited me with performers from my previous collaborations, who brought not just talent but vast repositories of knowledge drawn from oral storytelling traditions. Ayo-Dele Edwards, the first Nigerian-descent female performer to infuse UK theatre with authentic Yoruba songs, joined Sierra Leonean animateurs Patrice Naiambana and Usifu Jalloh, whose contributions to UK arts education stretch back to the mid-90s.
For the music I turned to the Ganda Boys, Denis Mugagga and Daniel Sewagudde, who I discovered were instrumental in shaping London's east African cultural movement. Their infectious compositions and melodious voices provided my production's sonic backbone while their advocacy for social justice aligned perfectly with my mission.
54.60 Africa arrives at a crucial moment for African representation in British theatre. Despite nearly three decades passing since I established Tiata Fahodzi in 1997, authentic African voices remain marginalised on major commercial stages. While regional theatres increasingly listen to their communities, the West End continues to shy away from genuine African stories, preferring sanitised interpretations such as The Lion King over authentic narratives.
My central mission remains unchanged: debunking tropes associated with my continent. Through lighthearted dramatic construction accessible to all ages, 54.60 Africa offers audiences a fresh perspective on Africa's true standards and incredible human endeavours, far removed from problematic western media narratives. In doing so, it challenges not just theatrical conventions but fundamental assumptions about a continent too often reduced to simplistic stereotypes.
54:60 Africa is at the Arcola theatre, London, to 12 July.
The Bee Keeper Women of Kitui, Kenya, 2007 (main picture, above)
Meeting a bee-keeping group in a nearby village in the Kitui district of Nairobi. The villagers who manage colonies of honeybees to produce honey, beeswax and royal jelly are a particularly good example of the valiant low-income women who have contributed to the economy of their immediate rural community.
Meeting Samora Machel in Maputo, Mozambique, 2015
Samora Machel was the country's first post-colonial and post-apartheid president, serving from 1975 until his tragic death in a plance crash 11 years later. This magnificent bronze statue is located in the centre of Praça da Independência in Maputo, the nation's capital.
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Kigali Lion Boys, Rwanda, 2017
Walking back from the Kigali Genocide Memorial commemorating the Tutsi people killed in 1994, I popped into a grocery store to pick up essentials for my trip back to Uganda. Sitting on monuments outside were these young boys who offered to help carry my shopping bags.
Overlooking the serenity of the Indian Ocean, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, 2018
Lying on the sand on a line which marks the meeting point of British colonial Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam. Behind me, young parents with their children play on the beach. In front of me, fishers, trawlers and ferries float on the bay between Kigamboni and nearby Zanzibar Ferry Terminals.
Learning to play the Kora in Banjul, the Gambia, 2018
A day trip to Selety, Senegal ends in Bakau Craft Market, Banjul, where I receive my first lesson on a kora cello owned by master kora player Lamin Suso. I had always been fascinated with the kora, having been introduced to its finesse back in the UK by the celebrated Nigerian player Tunde Jegede. If there's one thing I regret about school, it's not mastering an instrument. Especially an African one.
Last Days in Yaoundé, Cameroon, 2022
On my last day in Yaoundé, I made the long trek along the entire length of Tribune Présidentielle du Boulevard du 20 Mai which ends by Rond-Point J'Aime Mon Pays le Cameroun (I Love My Country Cameroon Roundabout). Certainly the most beautiful roundabout in the city.