The chief of the Dagaaba tribe - a colonised people in the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast - joins the British military and embarks upon a life-threatening odyssey to protect his family’s legacy.
SOGYA at Bloomsbury Festival 2024 Montage
SOGYA - Official Trailer
A lost story for our divided times.
SOGYA is a lyrical, World War II epic of family, companionship amidst crisis and the resilience of cultural identity; a lost story for our divided times, commemorating colonial soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the British Empire.
Through investigating the suffering and hope of one unknown soldier, this visceral, theatrical encounter illuminates how diverse communities can find belonging and healing through shared histories of sacrifice.
Our inaugural production premiered at Bloomsbury Festival 2024 in Holy Cross Church, King’s Cross, as part of the New Wave Theatre Award programme, a competition which nurtures and platforms the new wave of exciting, emerging talent, in response to the Festival’s yearly theme. Bloomsbury Festival 2024’s theme was ‘Human.Kind’.
The SOGYA Team
Writer, Director and Performer - Patrick Bayele
Co-Producer - Esther Foga
Creative Producer - Aixa Amarante Naranjo
Dramaturgs - Nicole Acquah and Aditi Dalal
Scenographer - Phoebe Spence-Evans
Movement Director - Mariana Camiloti
Vocal Coach - Graham D’Souza
Poster Photography and Graphic Design - Luan Da Silva and Arthur Bayele
Production Photography (above) - Stuart Keegan
Rehearsal Photography (below) and Trailer - Marshall Stay
SOGYA was conceived in response to the nationwide debates on race and history that were sparked by the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
Since 2021, Bayele, Esther Foga and Aixa Amarante Naranjo, The Avieli Arthouse’s core team, have been researching and developing the play within the UK and Ghana. This research, conducted in collaboration with the University of Ghana and the Veteran’s Administration, Ghana, includes interviews with surviving Gold Coast veterans and their descendants. SOGYA weaves together their unheard testimonies and Afro-centric co-creational theatre, to unravel a compelling, dignified parable of survival.
SOGYA is a ‘mesmeric’ encounter, inviting the audience into an embodied journey of singing, dancing, camaraderie and combat. We navigate the liminality of the motherland and the battlefield alongside our protagonist, and witness the testimonies of surviving Gold Coast veterans within an Afrocentric, co-creational, in-the-round experience.
SOGYA asks: ‘How can disempowered communities find hope for the future amidst suffering?’, unearthing lost legacies to illuminate how shared histories of sacrifice can heal our society.
On SOGYA’s development, Bayele shared:
‘In early 2021, after protests spread throughout the country, statues had been torn down, and new icons of black history were being sought after, I wanted to unearth a history that could bring our diverse, and sometimes opposing communities together. We hope that by bringing my great-uncle’s sacrifice into the national conversation on race, culture, history and identity, we can reclaim hidden histories that can help heal the wounds of our divided society.’
What Our Audiences Shared With Us
