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“When you speak about the legendary singer in South Africa, it’s akin to referring about a queen,” states Alesandra Seutin. Known as the Empress of African Song, Makeba additionally associated in New York with jazz greats like Miles Davis and Duke Ellington. Starting as a young person sent to work to support her family in the city, she eventually served as an envoy for Ghana, then the country’s representative to the United Nations. An outspoken anti-apartheid activist, she was the wife to a activist. This remarkable story and impact motivate Seutin’s new production, Mimi’s Shebeen, scheduled for its British debut.

The Blend of Dance, Music, and Spoken Word

The show combines dance, instrumental performances, and spoken word in a stage work that is not a straightforward biodrama but utilizes Makeba’s history, especially her experience of banishment: after relocating to New York in 1959, she was prohibited from her homeland for 30 years due to her anti-apartheid stance. Later, she was excluded from the US after wedding activist her spouse. The show resembles a ceremonial tribute, a deconstructed funeral – some praise, some festivity, some challenge – with a fabulous South African singer Tutu Puoane at the centre reviving her music to dynamic existence.

Power and poise … the production.

In South Africa, a informal gathering spot is an under-the-radar venue for home-brewed liquor and lively conversation, often managed by a host. Makeba’s mother Christina was a shebeen queen who was arrested for producing drinks without permission when Miriam was a newborn. Unable to pay the fine, she was incarcerated for six months, bringing her infant with her, which is how her remarkable journey began – just one of the things Seutin discovered when studying her story. “So many stories!” exclaims Seutin, when they met in Brussels after a performance. Her father is Belgian and she mainly grew up there before relocating to study and work in the UK, where she established her company Vocab Dance. Her South African mother would sing her music, such as Pata Pata and Malaika, when Seutin was a child, and dance to them in the home.

Songs of freedom … Miriam Makeba sings at Wembley Stadium in the year.

A decade ago, her parent had cancer and was in medical care in the city. “I stopped working for three months to take care of her and she was constantly requesting Miriam Makeba. It delighted her when we were performing as one,” she recalls. “I had so much time to pass at the facility so I began investigating.” In addition to learning of her victorious homecoming to the nation in 1990, after the release of Nelson Mandela (whom she had met when he was a legal professional in the era), Seutin found that she had been a someone who overcame illness in her youth, that Makeba’s daughter the girl passed away in childbirth in the year, and that because of her banishment she hadn’t been able to be present at her parent’s memorial. “Observing individuals and you look at their success and you overlook that they are struggling like anyone else,” says Seutin.

Development and Themes

These reflections went into the creation of the show (premiered in Brussels in the year). Thankfully, her parent’s treatment was effective, but the idea for the piece was to honor “loss, existence, and grief”. Within that, she pulls out elements of her life story like memories, and nods more broadly to the theme of uprooting and loss nowadays. Although it’s not overt in the show, Seutin had in mind a second protagonist, a modern-day Miriam who is a migrant. “And we gather as these alter egos of personas linked with Miriam Makeba to welcome this young migrant.”

Rhythms of exile … musicians in Mimi’s Shebeen.

In the performance, rather than being intoxicated by the shebeen’s home-brew, the skilled performers appear possessed by beat, in harmony with the players on stage. Her dance composition includes multiple styles of movement she has absorbed over the time, including from Rwanda, South Africa and Senegal, plus the international cast’ own vocabularies, including street styles like krump.

Honoring strength … the creator.

She was taken aback to find that some of the newer, international in the cast were unaware about the artist. (Makeba passed away in the year after having a heart attack on stage in Italy.) Why should younger generations learn about the legend? “I think she would inspire the youth to stand for what they are, speaking the truth,” says Seutin. “But she accomplished this very gracefully. She expressed something poignant and then perform a lovely melody.” Seutin wanted to take the same approach in this work. “Audiences observe dancing and hear melodies, an aspect of enjoyment, but mixed with powerful ideas and instances that hit. This is what I admire about her. Because if you are shouting too much, people may ignore. They back away. But she achieved it in a way that you would receive it, and understand it, but still be blessed by her ability.”

• Mimi’s Shebeen is showing in London, 22-24 October