A chance discovery in an attic sparks a fascinating family story with folk tales and legends that will tour to 17 venues in England in October and November.
Welsh Storyteller Phil Okwedy, and producers, Adverse Camber in association with Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton and Theatrau Sir Gâr, Carmarthenshire have united to share an incredible personal story, revealing a chance discovery about Phil’s own past and family history. Following a successful tour across Wales, The Gods Are All Here will tour across England as part of Black History Month in October and rural touring venues in November.
The Gods Are Here explores equality, freedom, racism, family and growing up without your birth parents, in a touching, funny and evocative performance. The Gods Are All Here is both timeless and very much a story of now.
Sparked by the discovery of a series of letters from his father in Nigeria to his mother in Wales, The Gods Are All Here is a compelling, lyrical and warm, one-man performance from first-class storyteller, Phil Okwedy.
Phil’s captivating performance skilfully weaves myth, song, folktales and legends of the African diaspora with an astonishing personal story that uncovers Phil’s experiences of growing up as a child of dual heritage in 1960 &70’s Wales.
Born in Cardiff, Phil 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 never having lived with them, in this show, Phil considers if his parents were, in fact, the gods he had imagined them to be…
Phil said: “As I developed as storyteller, there came a time when I felt ready to tell myth but could find none that resonated with me. So, 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.”
Phil Okwedy is a storyteller and writer, who has performed at many storytelling events and festivals across the UK. He was commissioned as part of Literature Wales’ 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 (Dreaming the Night Field / Fire in the North Sky ) is delighted to be touring this production, in partnership with Arena Theatre Wolverhampton and Carmarthenshire’s Theatrau Sir Gâr.
Executive Producer of Adverse Camber, Naomi Wilds, said: “Following a successful tour in 2022 across Wales we are delighted that audiences in England can now experience this involving and uplifting story as part of Black History Month, and also rural communities in the Midlands, Worcestershire, Derbyshire, Somerset, County Durham and Northumberland in November through rural touring networks. 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 glorious stories from the African continent, all in one captivating evening. Now is the right time to be hearing these stories and giving this talented storyteller the platform he deserves!”
The show is suitable for ages 12+. Phil who is also an engaging workshop leader will be running workshops and talks along with the show, plus an opportunity for groups and schools to develop their own creative writing skills and revealing more about the show.
The Gods Are Here will open at Hastings Story Festival on Monday 16 October, then Wolverhampton Arena (19 October); The Lighthouse, Poole (21 October); Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bristol (23 October); Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds (24 October); The Capstone Theatre, Liverpool (25 October); Derby Theatre (27 & 28 October); Cambridge Junction (29 October); Chew Stoke Village Hall with Valleys Arts in Somerset (9 November); Norton-Sub-Hamdon Village Hall, Somerset with Take Art Rural Touring (10 November); The Heath, Horsley, Northumberland with Highlights Rural Touring (17 November); Barningham Village Hall, County Durham with Highlights Rural Touring (18 November); The Cheviot Centre, Wooler, Northumberland with Highlights Rural Touring (19 November); St Peter’s Church, Cowleigh, Malvern, Worcestershire with Live and Local Rural Touring (23 November); Ordsall Parish Hall, Ordsall, Repton, Nottinghamshire with Live and Local Rural Touring (24 November); Doe Lea Resource Centre, Chesterfield, Derbyshire with Live and Local Rural Touring (25 November) and Gringley on the Hill Community Centre, Nottinghamshire with Live and Local Rural Touring (26 November)
https://www.adversecamber.org/
The Gods Are All Here has been supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England with support from Wolverhampton Arena, Theatrau Sir Gâr and Barry Jackson Trust.