Moj of the Antarctic

Above: Mojisola Adebayo, writer of the one-woman play "Moj of the Antarctic" on her research trip to Antarctica.

"Could you hold this, please?" said Moj as she handed one end of a piece of fabric to an audience member and turned in circles, tightly binding her chest. While the rest of the audience laughed, the poor viewer smiled awkwardly, sitting down in relief as Moj said "Thank you, that's perfect!" and walked back towards the center of the stage. How one woman could make a story about a slave escaping from the "Deep South" in the United States to Great Britain to an eventual suicide in Antarctica so hilarious speaks to the talent of Mojisola Adebayo, writer and actress in Moj of the Antarctic, a play which was performed at Maitisong last night.
The play, published in "Hidden Gems" by Deirdre Osbourne, was incredible. With a simple set, Moj expertly uses movement, song, poetry, and words - and many different accents - to successfully portray the story of the slave Moj, and not only deliver an incredible narrative but also express dismay at the world pollution which is causing the icecaps to melt, and highlight the undertones of white male supremacy that permeate society. Weaving humor with tragedy, Moj escapes from her "massa" after he murders the woman who taught her to read - who is also the woman she loves. Dressed as a white man, Moj meets a self-righteous abolitionist in Boston, who treats her like a circus animal. Disillusioned, Moj then travels to England, where she meets another black-woman-turned-man who is a sailor, and suggests the life of a whaling ship. Although Moj isn't interested in the same advantages of whaling as this woman (The sailor-woman: "And the perks are incredible!" Moj: "You mean the women?" Sailor: "No, the men!"), she decides to sign onto a ship, as a man, so that she can see the world. But her identity is discovered and rather than be the Christmas entertainment, Moj calmly walks away from the sailors' shack in Antarctica into a frozen world of white - underneath all of which lays beautiful black mountains. "I feel like I'm home!" Moj exclaims before her imminent death.
An incredible play - if I wasn't sleeping over at a friend's house, I would go see it again tonight!