As a co-founder and one of the directors of Mutiny Projects I was really delighted to be able to work across the three new writing and tech projects as part of the UEA’s Future and Form programme. All three of our works were presented as part of the programme for the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. One of these was Provenance, a new piece of work written for the project by Ayòbámi Adébáyò, which I was to direct for Mutiny.
This vivid and emotional multiscreen installation and live performance, tells the compelling story of twins separated by death. We follow the journey of the sacred ibeji artefact from its creation in Benin City, Nigeria, in 1895, to present-day Norwich in a story that spans continents, cultures and lifetimes.
Amongst the Yoruba of southwest Nigeria, twins are traditionally revered as gods. If a twin dies, the parents commission a sacred wooden sculpture of memorial— the ibeji. This figure is cared for as if it were a living twin.
With Marva Alexander, playing the role of museum curator Kenny Jimoh, the narrative unfolds over three simultaneous screens as we follow the 120-year journey of this sacred object from its creation in Benin City in 1895, its capture during the 1897 British invasion, Nigerian independence in 1960, to present-day Norwich, revealing how a seemingly anonymous museum artefact – the ibeji – can hold the hopes and emotions of a family and even of a nation.
We shot the film at Riverside Studios in March, with the Mutiny team of Simon Poulter as Art Director and Sophie Mellor as storyboard artist and editor of the film. The film was shot using two cameras as we built up the images and sequences to play out across the three screens. The actors and crew were all socially distanced and screens for the shoot.
We also worked with a brilliant Nigerian Artist – Osaze Amadasun who created all the original drawings within the film. The full list of credits and cast can be seen below. For more info about the project check out the micro-site on our Mutiny Website
Please click to view in full screen for the video of Provenance below.
CAST
Kenny Jimoh – Marva Alexander Marva Alexander trained at Rose Bruford Drama College of Speech and Drama. Marva’s most recent role has been in the TV drama, It’s a Sin by Russell T Davies playing Mrs Ngomo. Her other TV credits include Doctors, BBC Walking with Caveman, Silent Witness and The Bill. For two years she trained with Black Mime theatre company performing in two of their productions Dirty Reality Two and Mourning Song. She has appeared in many Theatres productions including Salisbury Playhouse, Manchester Library Theatre, Young Vic, Birmingham repertory Theatre and Northampton Theatre Royal. 
Mrs Jimoh – Jumoké Fashola Jumoké Fashola is an award winning Radio & Television Broadcaster, Jazz Singer and Actress. She currently presents J to Z on BBC Radio 3 and Sunday Breakfast – Inspirit for BBC Radio London. Her theatre credits include Temi Wilkey’s The High Table (Bush Theatre/ Dir, Daniel Bailey) and Zawe Ashton’s For All The Women Who Thought They Were Mad (Hackney Showroom/ Dir, Jo McInnes). She is the creator and host of the Jazz Verse Jukebox which had a 7 year residency at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, London.
Iya Agba – Golda John Golda John, a Nigerian born veteran award-winning Television, Stage and Film Actress has appeared in numerous theatre productions in Britain and internationally. She played lead roles in Wale Ogunyemi’s The Divorce, Wole Soyinka’s Death and The Kings Horse Man, Opera Wonyosi, Bertolt Brecht’s Good Woman of Setzuan, directed by Dr. Bode Osanyin, to mention a few. Golda was a famous face on Nigeria’s Television Authority in the 90s with plays such as Mirror In The Sun, Checkmate, Village Headmaster and Family Ties. Golda is one of the pioneers of Nigeria’s fast growing film industry, Nollywood, with such films as Ti Oluwa Ni Ile, Suspicion and Ahon among others.
Adesuwa – Diana Yekinni Diana Yekinni’s theatre credits include: Oyiri di ya in Three Sisters (National Theatre); Mum in I’ll Take You to Mrs Cole (Complicité); Nurse in The Secret lives of Baba Segi’s Wives (Arcola), Tituba in The Crucible (UK Tour); Molly in Drafts(Southwark Playhouse); Expensive Shit (Traverse Theatre / Royal Festival Hall); For Coloured Girls Who Have Considered Suicide (Lagos, Nigeria); London Life Lagos Living (Lagos, Nigeria) TV & Film credits include: Dolapo in For Love (BBC Films); Skin The Documentary (BeNaya/Netflix); Medium(CBS); and Wonu in The Mrs (Africa Magic) Lunch Time Heroes (Netflix).
Jide – Oliver Alvin-Wilson Oliver Alvin-Wilson’s credits include, for the National Theatre : All Of Us, Nine Night, The Red Barn, Emperor and Galilean and All’s Well That Ends Well. Other theatre includes: The Doctor at the Almeida; The Twilight Zone at the Ambassadors; Hamlet for Hamletscenen; A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Young Vic; Othello at the Stafford Gatehouse; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice and Henry V for Propeller; Antigone, Romeo and Juliet and This Child for Pilot; Doctor Faustus for West Yorkshire Playhouse; Blue/Orange on UK tour for ATG; Antony and Cleopatra for Nuffield; To Kill a Mockingbird for Theatr Clwyd on tour; Pigeon Lover at The Space; and Much Ado About Nothing for Derby Live. Oliver appeared in the films Wonder Woman 1984 and The Huntsman.
Nurse – Suzann McLean Suzann has worked extensively in both theatre and television she is the winner of British Arrows Gold Award for her performance in the BUPA for living advert and won the African Film Best Actress Award in 2011. Other acting credits include Pennyworth, Good Omens, The Honourable Woman, Dr. Who, Little Miss Jocelyn, Measure For Measure (National Theatre) A Raisin in the Sun (Synergy Theatre). Suzann is artistic director of Theatre Peckham Directing credits include Offie Nominated Extremism (Theatre Peckham), Driving Miss Daisy (York Theatre Royal), Robin Hood (Theatre Peckham), Catcher (Pilot Theatre).
For ‘Provenance’ Suzann was also 1st Assistant Director.
Creative Team
Written by Ayòbámi Adébáyò
Costume and Props: Alana Ashley
Make Up and Hair: Remi Oyenekan
Director of Photography: Andrew Delaney
Sound: Graham Tobias
Gaffer: Rich With
BSL Interpreter: Sumayya Si-Tayeb
1st Assistant Director: Suzann McLean
2nd Assistant Director: Evie Nuttgens
Music and Sound Design: Sandy Nuttgens
Illustration: Osaze Amadasun
Art Direction: Simon Poulter
Editor: Sophie Mellor
Director: Marcus Romer
For Future and Form and University of East Anglia (UEA):
CHASE Researchers: Sasha Bergstrom-Katz and Wes Brown
Provenance UEA Project Lead: Professor Jean McNeil
Future and Form Project Lead: Professor Henry Sutton
Future and Form Executive Producer: Tim Wright
Filmed at Riverside Studios, London, 2021
Suzann McLean performing on the stage in Roblox
The audience setting off to the start the story and to be part of the project
The Theatre space with room for several hundred seats
Suzann McLean and Oliver Alvin Wilson’s avatars performing the new text by Roy Williams for the audience.
The ice plateau area of Locus Solus
The show ran for 6 productions for the next 11 years. We gave over 960 performances in over 60 venues across the whole of the UK – and also as far afield as Bermuda, and Portugal. We were nominated for numerous awards and picked up a fair few along the way too. There were 6 casts and technical teams – but the original crashed plane design by Ali Allen and Marise Rose and the soundscape by Sandy Nuttgens were constant thoughout the whole series of productions.
Marcus Romer's work & blog 