Amarantha's bold new play
"River Mumma and the Golden Table" was selected for Melbourne Theatre Company's Cybec Electric program.
Over two weeks the script was developed with director - Bernadette Fam, dramaturgs Isobel Murphy Walsh and Mark Wilson, and a cast of five talented Black actors: Chika Igokwe, Alpha Karbgo, Zenya Carmelotti and Kudakawshe. For full credits, click here:
The script was then presented in a public ticketed reading on August 7th at the Southbank Theatre.
The work received a roaring standing ovation, followed by an effervescent, joyful post-show vibe.
August 7 reading: The development cast taking a bow as Amarantha is handed flowers from Melbourne Theatre Company
In December 2024, Amarantha presented a bold new, critically acclaimed play at fortyfivedownstairs called:
Set on an 17th C. English plantation in Jamaica, Ilarun is a mystical tale in a world where the sexual fluids of enslaved West African women are harvested / milked for power.
It follows Juicy, a "milked slave" in her rediscovery of self, sexuality and ancestral remembering that could snap the tethers of power.
Think of yourself as an incandescent power, illuminated and perhaps forever talked to by God and his messengers. Brenda Ueland
OSHUN
Written, produced and performed by Amarantha, Oshun is a vibrant one-woman show that tells the story of how Oshun, the young Yoruba goddess of love, femininity and fertility cames to take her place in the pantheon of orishas (West African dieties), despite the kingdom's denial of her subtle powers.
This colourful coming-of-age piece features soul songs, Cuban bata drums and captivating storytelling where Amarantha embodies 9 different orisha characters.
Oshun played sold-out seasons at La Mama Theatre in Melbourne, December 2022 and February 2024.
2024 Oshun event page:
Images of Oshun, from opening night December 2nd , 2022
@ La Mama Theatre. Credit Wild_Hardt Photography
