The Manchester International Festival 2019 will have Idris Elba and Skepta debut exciting new roles on stage. The Manchester International Festival holds biannually and has artists from all over the world showing original works.
Idris Elba is expected to debut “Tree.” Tree is a play Elba co-wrote with Kwame Kwei-Armah, the artistic director of Young Vic Theatre in London. The play talks about life is South Africa “After Nelson Mandela.” BBC Entertainment reports that the show is inspired by Elba’s album released in 2014 “Mi Mandela.” It is expected to be a mix of music, dance and drama.
Idris Elba told BBC Entertainment in an interview about his connection with Kwame Kwei-Armah on the project. He said, “We both experienced personal moments of healing connected with the country and we’re starting to explore that together. For me, an interesting part of the process is looking at the next part of the story; the new universe that sprung up after Mandela.”
Skepta will also be presenting his theatre production Dystopia987 which highlights rave culture. It is expected to present artists and rappers performing together which Skepta describes as “real life magic.”
In an interview with NME the director of the festival, John McGrath described the production as, “[It’s] somewhere between an immersive theatrical experience and a futuristic rave. The idea for Skepta is: what is the future of the space that has been called a rave over the years? Where might it be heading, and what kind of experience might that be?”
The whole world cannot wait for the Manchester International Festival 2019 to get here. There will also be a performance by an orchestra of 8,000 members led by Yoko Ono. The festival holds from July 4 to 21 of 2019.
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