Storyteller to reveal his past and family history
PEMBROKESHIREBASED storyteller Phil Okwedy is bringing a tale of his own chance discovery about his past and family history to Llanelli.
He has teamed up with producers Adverse Camber in association with Theatrau Sir Gar to bring the one-man show named The Gods Are All Here to Llanelli’s Ffwrnes Theatre on May 26.
The show tours Wales throughout May and June and again in the autumn.
The Gods Are Here explores equality, freedom, racism, family and growing up without your birth parents, in a touching, funny and evocative performance that is both timeless and a story of now.
Sparked by the discovery of a series of letters from his father in Nigeria to his mother in Wales, it is a compelling, lyrical and warm performance from Okwedy, who is a first-class storyteller.
His captivating performance weaves myth, songs, folktales and legends of the Africa’s scattered population with an astonishing personal story that uncovers his experiences of growing up as a child of dual heritage in 1960s and ‘70s Wales.
Born in Cardiff, he never lived with either of his parents but was raised in Pembrokeshire by his long-term foster mother.
Charting the time of life when children are said to view their parents as gods, but
When I found the letters in my mother’s flat after her death, I felt a need to do more with them than just read them but I was not yet a storyteller and so had no idea what that might be Phil Okwedy
never having lived with them, in this show, Okwedy considers if his parents were, in fact, the gods he had imagined them to be.
He said: “As I developed as a storyteller, there came a time when I felt ready to tell myth but could find none that resonated with me. I began to weave personal and family stories with folktales as a kind of myth-making exercise.
“When I found the letters in my mother’s flat after her death, I felt a need to do more with them than just read them but I was not yet a storyteller and so had no idea what that might be.
“Now, in sharing this show my intention is that it resonates with other people, with their individual family stories but also with the audience as a whole, because it is by working together that we ensure that equality, justice and freedom are experienced by all.”
As a storyteller and writer, who has performed at many storytelling events and festivals across the UK, he has recently been commissioned as part of Literature Wales’s Representing Wales, Developing Writers of Colour programme and as a major contributor to National Theatre Wales Go Tell the Bees project.
Leading UK storytelling production company, Adverse Camber is delighted to be touring this production, in partnership with Carmarthenshire’s Theatrau Sir Gar.
Executive director of Adverse Camber, Naomi Wilds, said: “We are so delighted to have the chance to bring Phil Okwedy’s The Gods Are All Here to Welsh audiences in 2022. Phil is such an engaging storyteller and his story lifts audiences from wherever they are to 1960s Wales, and onto an amazing voyage of discovery, with two glorious stories from the African continent, all in one captivating evening.” Theatrau Sir Gar is supporting production development, with director Michael Harvey and a team of production professionals, including designer, shadow producer and technical team.
For tickets visit Theatrau Sir Gar’s website.