Africa Dreaming is a musical based on myths and legends taken from the different peoples of southern Africa and is episodic in structure. The piece blends myth and history, music and the spoken word, comedy, drama and lyrics that range from the poetic to the colloquial. Its music is a mix of classical and popular styles, as well as the indigenous rhythms and harmonies of the African continent.
The subjects covered in the songs extend from courtship (The World's First Bachelor) to creation (Many Many Years Ago) and from rumbustious comedy (The Legend of Van Hunks) to tragedy (Nonquawuse), as they seek to articulate our deepest beliefs and feelings and our desire to interpret the world around us so we can learn to understand who and what we are. Though rooted in the African oral tradition, the stories are universal in their humanity and humour.
Africa Dreaming, written in 1994, has been produced successfully in professional theatre by The Drakensberg Boys Choir School and later at the State Theatre Pretoria. It has since been staged by several schools in South Africa.
It is a colourful and dynamic work, with scope both for choral participation and individual performers, involving actors, singers and dancers.
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