Great Apes of the West Coast

Princess Isatu Hassan Bangura (25) recently graduated as a performance artist at Toneelacademie Maastricht. In the 2021-2022 season, she made her debut on the big stage of NTGent as part of the cast of Grief & Beauty, a play by artistic director Milo Rau. Now the moment has come for her to tell her own story: the journey from Sierra Leone to the Netherlands.
“The world I come from, is chaotic from beginning to end, but in that chaos, there is peace, serenity, togetherness and ancestral love"Princess Isatu Hassan Bangura
As an attempt to compose a "love letter to her people" and to re-discover her West-African roots, Great Apes of the West Coast will be a visual, musical and lyrical solo performance that tells the story of the West-African culture through the voice of a West-African woman. It’s a story of new beginnings, of re-discoveries and memories. You’re warmly invited to join and witness Princess’ journey into a new awareness gained in her most sacred space, the stage.
“I knew what the color of my skin was in Africa, but I never knew what it meant until I came to the Netherlands.”
The stage language of Princess has been crafted day after day, by discovering both the West-African artforms, their differences, their similarities, and their unique combinations. The creation of an own artistical language has alsomeant discovering the world in which she lives.
credits
concept, direction & performance
Princess Isatu Hassan Banguramusicians
Edis Vander Pajazetowicdramaturgy
Giacomo Bisordimusic composition
Edis Vander Pajazetowiclight design
Sander Michielsproduction management
Greet Provédirection assistant
Elli De Meyerproduction
NTGentcoproduction
Via Zuid, Fashionclash, Likemindssurtitling
Liesbeth Standaert
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