Cast & Creative Team Set For The World Premiere Of Art Of Time Ensemble's SANKOFA: The Soldier's Tale Retold

The cast and creative team have been announced for Sankofa: The Soldier's Tale Retold, presented by Art of Time in association with The Royal Conservatory's Glenn Gould School and Koffler Arts. This world premiere reinvents Igor Stravinsky's 1918 theatrical work L'Histoire du Soldat with a new libretto by poet Titilope Sonuga, directed by Tawiah M'Carthy. The award-winning cast features Diego Matamoros as Devil, Wade Bogert-O'Brien as Devil understudy, Olaoluwa Fayokun as Soldier, and Ordena Stephens-Thompson as Narrator. A seven-piece ensemble of musicians from The Glenn Gould School will perform the score. Andrew Burashko is the work's conductor and musical director, with lighting design by Kevin Lamotte, costume design by Des'ree Gray, and sound design by John Gzowski.

Through the journey of a fictional soldier attempting to enlist in WWI, this Soldier's Tale is set against the historical context of the No. 2 Construction Battalion, the only Canadian battalion composed of Black soldiers to serve in the First World War. In a psychological battle with the Devil, the Soldier embodies the battalion's resilience and enduring struggle against racism, discrimination and historical erasure.

"I believe in this project with all my heart. Re-envisioning Stravinsky's score with a new narrative and staging that speaks directly to one of the most pressing social and political movements of today allows for new ownership, new authorship, and new audiences. It is an important and opportune moment for such creative and radical experimentation." - Andrew Burashko, Artistic Director, Art of Time Ensemble

Like the symbol of the Sankofa bird from which this story draws its name (a word in the Twi language of Ghana which means to go back and retrieve what was forgotten), Sankofa blends past and future as the rhythm of Sonuga's poetry weaves through Stravinsky's original music. The work is an invitation to honour a difficult history while moving toward a more promising future.