Princess Isatu Hassan Bangura
Biography
Princess Isatu Hassan Bangura (b. 1996) graduated as a performer from the Toneelacademie in Maastricht and has since combined techniques from different art forms as a multidisciplinary artist: performance, music and film.
She has performed at the Nationaal Theater and NTGent and created several solo performances. These are often described as 'rich in images and colours', sometimes as radical. She finds inspiration in memories from her past and in the mix of her West African origins with her current knowledge of the Western world. Her work reflects her religious and spiritual background. She often assumes the role of storyteller, while the audience assumes the role of witness. Her physical presence at the theatre aims to touch the primal essence of human beings.
"As a creator and performer, I am someone who likes to push and challenge boundaries. I like to seek that which is not yet there and that which cannot be understood. Theatre for me is about 'experiencing', an honest experience, between myself and the audience. Theatre challenges my thoughts, my mind and my perception of the world. It forces me to look beyond the black-and-white-narrative and find the grey areas of life itself."
She has performed at the Nationaal Theater and NTGent and created several solo performances. These are often described as 'rich in images and colours', sometimes as radical. She finds inspiration in memories from her past and in the mix of her West African origins with her current knowledge of the Western world. Her work reflects her religious and spiritual background. She often assumes the role of storyteller, while the audience assumes the role of witness. Her physical presence at the theatre aims to touch the primal essence of human beings.
"As a creator and performer, I am someone who likes to push and challenge boundaries. I like to seek that which is not yet there and that which cannot be understood. Theatre for me is about 'experiencing', an honest experience, between myself and the audience. Theatre challenges my thoughts, my mind and my perception of the world. It forces me to look beyond the black-and-white-narrative and find the grey areas of life itself."
In season 21-22, she was part of NTGent's Global Ensemble. She joined the cast of the production Grief & Beauty (directed by Milo Rau). In season 22-23, she will make a solo performance with Great Apes of the West Coast at NTGent.
Project
Great Apes of the West Coast
“Great Apes of the West Coast is the story I have always avoided to tell. But lately, I am realizing that this story is unavoidable”, says Princess Bangura.
Princess Isatu Hassan Bangura, twenty-five years old, graduated as a performance artist at Toneelacademie Maastricht. In the 2021-2022 season, she made her debut on the big stage of NTGent as part of the cast of Grief & Beauty, a play by artistic director Milo Rau. Now the moment has come for her to tell her own story: the journey from Sierra Leone to the Netherlands.
“I come from a world without structure, without minimalism. A world filled with basic human instincts. It’s chaotic from beginning to end, but in that chaos, there is peace, serenity, togetherness and ancestral love.”
As an attempt to compose a love letter to her people and to re-discover her West-African roots, Great Apes of the West Coast will be a visual, musical and lyrical solo performance that tells the story of the West-African culture through the voice of a West-African woman. It’s a story of new beginnings, of re-discoveries and memories. You’re warmly invited to join and witness Princess’ journey into a new awareness gained in her most sacred space, the stage.
“I knew what the color of my skin was in Africa, but I never knew what it meant until I came to the Netherlands.”
The stage language of Princess has been crafted day after day, by discovering both the Western artforms and the West-African artforms, their differences, their similarities, and their unique combinations. The creation of an own artistical language has alsomeant discovering the world in which she lives.
Princess Isatu Hassan Bangura, twenty-five years old, graduated as a performance artist at Toneelacademie Maastricht. In the 2021-2022 season, she made her debut on the big stage of NTGent as part of the cast of Grief & Beauty, a play by artistic director Milo Rau. Now the moment has come for her to tell her own story: the journey from Sierra Leone to the Netherlands.
“I come from a world without structure, without minimalism. A world filled with basic human instincts. It’s chaotic from beginning to end, but in that chaos, there is peace, serenity, togetherness and ancestral love.”
As an attempt to compose a love letter to her people and to re-discover her West-African roots, Great Apes of the West Coast will be a visual, musical and lyrical solo performance that tells the story of the West-African culture through the voice of a West-African woman. It’s a story of new beginnings, of re-discoveries and memories. You’re warmly invited to join and witness Princess’ journey into a new awareness gained in her most sacred space, the stage.
“I knew what the color of my skin was in Africa, but I never knew what it meant until I came to the Netherlands.”
The stage language of Princess has been crafted day after day, by discovering both the Western artforms and the West-African artforms, their differences, their similarities, and their unique combinations. The creation of an own artistical language has alsomeant discovering the world in which she lives.
“It is not about pointing fingers but about giving voice to the voiceless, giving life to the dead, and conversing with your inner turmoil.”
French version
Dutch version
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