WRITER
KUDAKWASHE
PERFORMANCE TIMES
PUBLIC PERFORMANCE
6.30pm, Mon 28 Oct
IF YOU DON’T KNO, COME AND FIND OUT...
Who No Kno Go Kno is a bold new work by Kudakwashe that melds Afro-Surrealism, Afro-Futurism and a world of climate-inspired mysticism. Set in a futuristic unnamed African country, this gripping story follows Yung Sango, a teenager caught between the wisdom of the past and forces shaping an uncertain future.
This work is a dynamic sensory experience melding music, spoken word and movement. Feel the heat of tension through lighting, sound and staging that conjures both a visceral, dreamlike atmosphere and the volatility of the natural world. Be drawn into intimate moments of connection and jolted by intense encounters with larger-than-life forces, the elemental powers of Mama Earth and Mama Sun.
A compelling journey of self-discovery, Who No Kno Go Kno invites you to reflect on identity, legacy, the power of imagination and the invisible worlds that surround us all. As Yung Sango navigates familial bonds, ancestral spirits and the ravages of climate change, the play asks: Will we fetch what is at risk of being left behind?
Every two years, Malthouse commissions a new script exclusively for our Suitcase Series program to confront the climate crisis. For one night only, the latest Suitcase Series production, Who No Kno Go Kno by Kudakwashe, is open to the general public. Come, experience this extraordinary new work.
The Suitcase Series is made possible with the generous support of Girgensohn Foundation.
The Suitcase Series also receives generous support from individual Malthouse Muse donors.
DIRECTOR
EFFIE NKRUMAH
YUNG SANGO
TANE WILLIAMS ACCRA
UNCLE BANGA
ALPHA KARGBO
ARIKO
MASEGO PITSO
SET & COSTUME DESIGNER
ZOË ROUSE
LIGHTING DESIGNER
HARRIE HOGAN
COMPOSER & SOUND DESIGNER
JOE PARADISE LUI
DRAMATURG
BERNADETTE FAM
MOVEMENT CONSULTANT
JONATHAN HOMSEY
MOVEMENT (WEST AFRICAN) & FIGHT CONSULTANT
KWAME TOSUMA
STAGE MANAGER
CLAUDIA HOWARTH
'In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught.’
Baba Dioum
Senegalese Forestry Engineer
‘Afro-Surreal presupposes that beyond this visible world, there is an invisible world striving to manifest, and it is our job to uncover it. Like the African Surrealists, AfroSurrealists recognize that nature (including human nature) generates more surreal experiences than any other process could hope to produce.’
D Scot Miller
African-American Writer and Poet
‘Don't they know this science fiction is sentimental to the state of Africa?’
Keziah Jones
Nigerian Singer-Songwriter and Guitarist
‘I stood at the border, stood at the edge and claimed it as central. I claimed it as central, and let the rest of the world move over to where I was.’
Toni Morrison
African-American Writer
‘If one can imagine something, it at least has the potential to exist.’
Malidoma Patrice Somé
Ancestor, Elder, Medicine Man and Writer from the Dagara Village, Burkina Faso
SANKOFA: A Ghanaian word from the Akan Nation meaning 'look back to look forward' or 'fetch what is at risk of being left behind.' In Akan language, Sankofa is expressed as so wo were fi na wosan kofa a yenkyi translating to ‘it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot.’
Click here to listen to Kuda’s WHO NO KNO GO KNO Spotify playlists.
Keep checking back here as we add further reading, listening and resources.