Theatre News

South African Show Umoja Dances Back to London

| London's West End |

5 January 2012

South African song and dance show Umoja is returning to the West End next month, nearly ten years since it was last seen in the capital.

The award-winning show, which premiered in 2000, was originally created by Todd Twala and Thembi Nyandeni as a way of a reminding a new generation of South Africans of their heritage.

The new production will run at Sadler’s Wells’ Peacock Theatre from the 1 to 19 February 2012 (previews from 31 January).

Umoja – which means ‘togetherness’ in Zulu – features music “from the potent rhythms of tribal music to the joy of gospel and the pounding energy of contemporary kwaito”. The company comprises 30 South African singers, dancers and musicians.

It was first seen in London at the Shaftesbury Theatre in November 2001 but was forced to close prematurely following noise complaints and the intervention of Camden Council. It subsequently opened at the Queen’s Theatre in 2002, before transferring to the New London for a limited run.