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“Discussing about the legendary singer in South Africa, it’s similar to talking about a queen,” states Alesandra Seutin. Called the Empress of African Song, Makeba also associated in Greenwich Village with jazz greats like prominent artists. Beginning as a young person sent to work to provide for her relatives in the city, she later served as an envoy for Ghana, then Guinea’s representative to the United Nations. An vocal campaigner against segregation, she was married to a Black Panther. Her rich life and legacy inspire Seutin’s new production, Mimi’s Shebeen, set for its British debut.

A Fusion of Movement, Sound, and Narration

Mimi’s Shebeen merges movement, instrumental performances, and spoken word in a stage work that is not a straightforward biodrama but draws on her past, especially her story of exile: after moving to the city in the year, Makeba was prohibited from her homeland for three decades due to her opposition to segregation. Subsequently, she was excluded from the US after marrying activist Stokely Carmichael. The show resembles a ritual of remembrance, a reimagined memorial – some praise, part celebration, some challenge – with a fabulous South African singer the performer at the centre bringing Makeba’s songs to vibrant life.

Power and poise … Mimi’s Shebeen.

In the country, a informal gathering spot is an unofficial gathering place for home-brewed liquor and lively conversation, often presided over by a host. Makeba’s mother the matriarch was a shebeen queen who was detained for producing drinks without permission when Miriam was a newborn. Unable to pay the fine, she was incarcerated for half a year, taking her baby with her, which is how Miriam’s eventful life began – just one of the details Seutin learned when researching Makeba’s life. “Numerous tales!” says Seutin, when they met in the city after a show. Her father is from Belgium and she mainly grew up there before moving to learn and labor in the United Kingdom, where she established her company Vocab Dance. Her parent would perform Makeba’s songs, such as the tunes, when Seutin was a child, and move along in the living room.

Songs of freedom … Miriam Makeba sings at Wembley Stadium in 1988.

A decade ago, Seutin’s mother had cancer and was in hospital in the city. “I stopped working for three months to look after her and she was always requesting Miriam Makeba. She was so happy when we were singing together,” she remembers. “There was ample time to kill 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), she found that she had been a breast cancer survivor in her teens, that her child Bongi passed away in childbirth in the year, and that due to her banishment she hadn’t been able to attend her parent’s memorial. “Observing individuals and you look at their achievements and you forget that they are struggling like everyone,” states Seutin.

Development and Themes

All these thoughts contributed to the creation of the show (premiered in the city in the year). Fortunately, her parent’s therapy was successful, but the concept for the work was to celebrate “death, life and mourning”. In this context, Seutin highlights elements of her life story like flashbacks, and nods more generally to the idea of uprooting and loss today. While it’s not overt in the show, Seutin had in mind a second protagonist, a modern-day Miriam who is a traveler. “Together, we assemble as these other selves of characters connected to Miriam Makeba to welcome this newcomer.”

Rhythms of exile … performers in the show.

In the performance, rather than being intoxicated by the shebeen’s local drink, the skilled performers appear possessed by beat, in harmony with the players on the platform. Her choreography includes various forms of dance she has learned over the time, including from Rwanda, South Africa and Senegal, plus the global performers’ personal styles, including street styles like the form.

Honoring strength … Alesandra Seutin.

She was taken aback to find that some of the newer, international in the cast didn’t already know about the artist. (Makeba passed away in 2008 after having a heart attack on stage in Italy.) Why should younger generations learn about the legend? “In my view she would inspire the youth to stand for what they are, speaking the truth,” says Seutin. “However she did it very elegantly. She’d say something meaningful and then sing a beautiful song.” She wanted to take the similar method in this production. “Audiences observe movement and listen to beautiful songs, an aspect of enjoyment, but intertwined with strong messages and moments that hit. This is what I admire about her. Because if you are being overly loud, people may ignore. They back away. But she achieved it in a way that you would accept it, and understand it, but still be graced by her ability.”

• The performance is at the city, 22-24 October