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“When you speak about Miriam Makeba in South Africa, it’s similar to talking about a sovereign,” states the choreographer. Called the Empress of African Song, the iconic artist additionally associated in New York with renowned musicians like prominent artists. Beginning as a teenager dispatched to labor to provide for her relatives in Johannesburg, she eventually served as an envoy for Ghana, then Guinea’s official delegate to the UN. An vocal anti-apartheid activist, she was the wife to a Black Panther. Her remarkable story and impact motivate Seutin’s latest work, the performance, scheduled for its UK premiere.

A Blend of Dance, Music, and Spoken Word

Mimi’s Shebeen combines movement, live music, and spoken word in a theatrical piece that is not a simple biography but utilizes her past, particularly her experience of banishment: after moving to New York in the year, Makeba was barred from South Africa for 30 years due to her anti-apartheid stance. Later, she was excluded from the US after wedding Black Panther activist her spouse. The performance is like a ritual of remembrance, a deconstructed funeral – part eulogy, some festivity, part provocation – with a fabulous vocalist the performer leading bringing her music to vibrant life.

Strength and elegance … Mimi’s Shebeen.

In the country, a informal gathering spot is an unofficial gathering place for locally made drinks and lively conversation, usually presided over by a host. Her parent Christina was a proprietress who was arrested for illegally brewing alcohol when Miriam was a newborn. Unable to pay the penalty, Christina was incarcerated for six months, taking her infant with her, which is how Miriam’s eventful life started – just one of the things Seutin discovered when researching Makeba’s life. “Numerous tales!” exclaims she, when they met in the city after a show. Seutin’s father is from Belgium and she was raised there before moving to study and work in the United Kingdom, where she founded her dance group Vocab Dance. Her parent would perform Makeba’s songs, such as Pata Pata and Malaika, when Seutin was a child, and dance to them in the living room.

Songs of freedom … the artist performs at the venue in 1988.

A decade ago, Seutin’s mother had cancer and was in medical care in the city. “I paused my career for three months to take care of her and she was constantly requesting Miriam Makeba. It delighted her when we were singing together,” Seutin recalls. “There was ample time to pass at the facility so I began investigating.” In addition to reading about Makeba’s triumphant return to South Africa in the year, after the freedom of the leader (whom she had met when he was a young lawyer in the era), Seutin found that she had been a breast cancer survivor in her teens, that Makeba’s daughter Bongi died in labor in the year, and that because of her banishment she hadn’t been able to be present at her own mother’s funeral. “You see people and you focus on their success and you overlook that they are facing challenges like everyone,” states Seutin.

Creation and Concepts

These reflections contributed to the creation of the show (premiered in Brussels in 2023). Thankfully, Seutin’s mother’s treatment was effective, but the idea for the work was to honor “loss, existence, and grief”. In this context, she highlights threads of Makeba’s biography like memories, and nods more generally to the idea of displacement and dispossession today. While it’s not overt in the show, Seutin had in mind a additional character, a modern-day Miriam who is a migrant. “Together, we assemble as these other selves of personas connected to the icon to greet this newcomer.”

Melodies of banishment … performers in the show.

In the show, rather than being inebriated by the shebeen’s local drink, the skilled performers appear possessed by beat, in harmony with the musicians on the platform. Seutin’s choreography incorporates multiple styles of movement she has learned over the time, including from Rwanda, South Africa and Senegal, plus the global performers’ personal styles, including urban dances like the form.

A celebration of resilience … the creator.

She was taken aback to find that some of the younger, non-South Africans in the group were unaware about the artist. (She died in the year after having a heart attack on stage in the country.) Why should new audiences learn about the legend? “In my view she would motivate the youth to stand for what they are, expressing honesty,” remarks the choreographer. “However she did it very gracefully. She expressed something meaningful and then perform a beautiful song.” She aimed to adopt the similar method in this production. “We see movement and listen to melodies, an element of entertainment, but intertwined with strong messages and instances that hit. That’s what I respect about her. Since if you are shouting too much, people may ignore. They back away. But she did it in a manner that you would accept it, and hear it, but still be graced by her ability.”

• The performance is at London, 22-24 October