WAX TRADERS

Music theater

14 Mar

By Eva-Maria Bertschy and Kojack Kossakamvwe

WAX TRADERS tells the story of two daring women on the African west coast, that skillfully navigate global markets in times of political upheaval, resisting against the massive inequalities of the colonial system. They meet two European tradesmen that work for the “Basel Trading Company” and seek their fortune on the “Gold coast”. Together the four characters create a market for the “African Wax Prints” – cotton fabrics with colourful print design, that Swiss and Dutch textile companies develop by copying Indonesian patterns and printing technique. Inspired by traditional storytelling, Eva-Maria Bertschy and Kojack Kossakamvwe create an extensive ballad about the trade relations between the Swiss textile industry and its customers in West Africa, that has existed since centuries.

For WAX TRADERS Bertschy and Kossakamve work with a truly transnational ensemble. Together with co-author Edwige Dro (Côte d’Ivoire) Bertschy takes on an investigative journey that starts in the archives of the Basel Mission and leads to Ghana along the old trading routes. The text alternates songs about history and economics with scenes from the market and biographic narration. Araba Dansowaa (Ghana), Jahelle Bonee (Côte d’Ivoire) and Martina Momo Kunz (Switzerland) fearlessly sing and perform through the complex chain of events and jump back and forth between the roles. With the three singers and the Perkussionist Jonathan Tshimbombo (D. R. Congo), Kossakamvwe takes the audience on an epic musical journey between countries and centuries that is joyful and melancholic at the same time. The costumes by Austin Nortey (Ghana) lead through a history of printing technique, textile design and fashion spanning from traditional Indonesian and West African Batik fabrics to European and finally Chinese imitations. The scenography by Percy Nii Nortey (Ghana) reflects on different layers of culture and work in the textile business between tradition and colonial influence.

English, French, German, Twi, Baoulé & Lingala
With Surtitles in German and English

Duration: 2h20

WAX TRADERS is produced by GROUP50:50 in coproduction with Vorarlberger Landestheater and Kaserne Basel. With the financial support of: Fachausschuss Tanz & Theater Basel-Stadt /Basel-Landschaft, Pro Helvetia, Schweizer Kulturstiftung, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Landis & Gyr Stiftung, Anne-Marie Schindler Stiftung and Südkulturfonds.