Where did freedom go when the walls came down?
KALAKUTHER is a music-theatre work in development, rooted in the legacy of Fela Kuti's Kalakuta Republic — the compound in Lagos that became a commune of radical art, resistance, and community. Told through the voices of the women who built their lives within its walls, KALAKUTHER explores what it means to hold a vision of freedom when the world comes to burn it down. Through live music, movement, and spoken word, this is a piece about the body as archive, the voice as resistance, and the fire that refuses to go out.
KalakutHer
A WORK -IN - PROGRESS
The Story
On 18 February 1977, the Nigerian military marched on the Kalakuta Republic. They burned it to the ground. What they could not destroy was the memory held in the bodies of the people who were there. The women who sang. The women who cooked. The women who danced and organised and refused and endured. The queens.
KALAKUTHER begins where the fire ends. It listens to what the silence remembers.
The Work
KALAKUTHER is currently in active development — a music-theatre work being built through research, residency, living community, and rigour. After over fifteen months of creative development, including script workshops, musical research, and a public sharing, the work is deepening
The next phases of development include:
Further script development — sharpening the narrative and deepening the theatrical language.
Music composition — an original score weaving Afrobeat, Yoruba musical traditions, and contemporary composition.
A research visit to Nigeria — to develop a deeper musical voice and to sit with some of the surviving members of the Kalakuta community.
A script reading tour — testing the work with audiences across the UK.
A script reading and industry sharing — February 2027, marking the 50th anniversary of the Kalakuta Republic's destruction.
Full production — 2028, with a national tour to Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, and London
KALAKUTHER is not a biography. It is a reckoning. It is what the fire becomes when it chooses not to die
The Team
Creative Lead
Writer: Segun Lafup Ogundipe
Development Cast
Ebunoluwa Adesina
Sinead D'Abreu-Hayling
Cillsoul
Ajumoke Nwaeze
Creative & Artistic Team
Musical Consultant: Dele Sosimi — Former keyboardist with Fela Kuti's Egypt 80 and UK Afrobeat Ambassador. Dele brings an unmatched connection to the sonic world of the Kalakuta Republic.
Visual Consultant & Designer: Lemi — Artist and creator of the iconic visual language of Fela Kuti's recorded works. Lemi's involvement anchors the work in authentic visual memory.
Dramaturg: In conversation (role to be announced).
Academic & Cultural Consultancy
Cultural Consultant: Dr Lekan Balogun (University of Leeds) — Bringing academic expertise and cultural responsibility to the project.
Research Associate: Ke Li (PhD Researcher)
Production Partner
Producing Partner: Helen Goodman (Director of Development, Oldham Coliseum) — An integral stakeholder providing vital producing insight and institutional support.
Research & Process
KALAKUTHER is built on living research. The history of the Kalakuta Republic is held in the bodies and memories of those who survived it. A central part of this development is a planned journey to Nigeria to work directly with surviving Kalakuta queens to ensure the work is rooted in truth, care, and community consent.
The research process — rigorous in scholarship and alive to community — informs every layer of the work, from the text to the music to the spatial dramaturgy.
Collaborate & Connect
KALAKUTHER is a work made for connection. We are actively in dialogue with venues, producers, festivals, international partners, and cultural organisations drawn to what this story represents.
If you would like to know more, discuss collaboration, or be part of what is being built, we would love to hear from you
Contact: www.lafup.co.uk/contact