Fela!

Saturday, was a good day.

Not only did I get to spend time with my father (regular readers will know about my relationship with him and those that don't can read about it here), but I also got to see FELA!

I really like going to the theatre and when a friend of mine told me last summer that Fela! the musical would be coming to the UK, I was pretty excited to experience a re-enactment of what would have been pertinent during my parents youth. The fact that I'd heard my Dad (and a good majority of the Nigerian elders I'd encountered over the years) mention Fela and his music, sparked my interest even more.

My Dad and I frequently spend time together in the house and often have deep and meaningful's as well as trivial conversations, but it was nice to be out and about with him - and on public transport no less! When we're going somewhere it usually always involves a car so it was something completely different and I loved it. The fact that people did double takes at times probably wondering if he was my 'sugar-daddy' as opposed to my actual daddy made me giggle but it only added further interest to the day.

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting of the play but I was pleasantly surprised when we took our seats. I always try to have a look around at the staging before the show starts and I tip my hat to the stage director/designer because it was very well executed. From the paintings to the lighting, it all added as opposed to detracting from the production.

The actors/actresses/dancers/singers did a fantastic job and aside from the dodgy 'Nigerian' (or should I say Ghanian mixed with South African accent) of the lead and questionable, un-Fela-like singing at times, it was a great show! The energy exuding from the dancers alone made me wish I could seemingly detach my waist from my body and do a little shimmy - not in public of course!

All in all it was a lovely day out. I got to learn a lot more about Fela (the weed smoking, lady loving activist) in a far more interesting way than reading a textbook whilst spending time with one of my favourite people. What more could I ask?

I'm going to the theatre again tomorrow (Tuesday) and the day after (Wednesday) so will try to blog about both before returning to my usual random musings. If any of you saw Fela I'd like to know what you thought about it? And also, how often do you spend time with your parents - if ever?