Ghanaian playwright Latif Abubakar is set to bring President John Dramani Mahama's United Nations reckoning to the stage with his 21st production, 'The Darkest Chapter'. The production, produced by Globe Productions in partnership with the National Theatre, UNESCO, and the Ministries of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, and Foreign Affairs, promises to be a world-class musical dance theatrical experience. It is inspired by President Mahama's testimony before the UNGA earlier this year.
The production is centered around President Mahama's testimony before the UNGA, which saw the UNGA vote 123 to three on a resolution to declare the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialised chattel enslavement the gravest crime against humanity in recorded history. The resolution, spearheaded by the Republic of Ghana and borne forward on the shoulders of the African Union, CARICOM, and people of conscience across the world, provided a moment where a nation's leadership turned centuries of silence into a verdict.
At the heart of the production is 'The Witness', an immortal narrator who has lived a thousand lives across four hundred years. The narrator has been a child of the Gold Coast, a man in chains on the Middle Passage, a field hand on a Caribbean plantation, a marcher beside history's freedom fighters, and a presence moving unseen through the halls of the United Nations. The narrator carries four centuries of stolen names, hard-won freedom, and an unfinished promise into the UNGA chamber.
The production, set across three simultaneous worlds, fuses West African, contemporary, and Caribbean dance traditions with a live score of African percussion, orchestral strings, and a full gospel-highlife choir. The three worlds include the shores and dungeons of Cape Coast and Elmina, a modern UN General Assembly hall, and a timeless spirit realm reachable only through drumming and movement.
According to Latif Abubakar, the production is "a sensory masterpiece; immersive, cinematic, and unapologetically global in its ambition". He added that it is designed to premiere with equal power in Accra, Kingston, Bridgetown, Port of Spain, New York, or London. Abubakar is urging audiences to walk through the performance so that, when the resolution is finally spoken aloud on that stage, it does not land as a headline but as an answered prayer.
Abubakar emphasized that the production is not asking audiences to relive four hundred years of pain, but to walk through it. The award-winning playwright's 21st production celebrates his career as a body of work that has quietly built Ghana's most consistent bridge between theatre and social change.
'The Darkest Chapter' marks a significant milestone in Latif Abubakar's career, showcasing his ability to create immersive and thought-provoking productions that spark important conversations. The production is expected to be a powerful experience, leaving audiences to ponder the question: what will you do now that you know?
Key points
- The production 'The Darkest Chapter' is inspired by President John Dramani Mahama's testimony before the United Nations General Assembly.
- The production fuses West African, contemporary, and Caribbean dance traditions with a live score of African percussion, orchestral strings, and a full gospel-highlife choir.
- The production aims to spark a conversation about the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialised chattel enslavement.
