With much fiery oratory and some of his famous songs, including a dramatic rendition of Ol’ Man River, Tayo Aluko revives the story of one of the 20th century’s most impressive but overlooked figures in Call Mr. Robeson: A Life, With Songs.
Written and performed by Aluko, this roller-coaster journey through world-famous actor, singer and civil rights campaigner Paul Robeson’s remarkable life highlights how his heroic political activism led many to describe him as the forerunner of the civil rights movement.
Performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall, 2012, and London’s West End, 2013, Call Mr. Robeson: A Life, With Songs has been awarded Best Musical Performance, Atlantic Fringe, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2013; Best Solo Show, Stratford-upon-Avon Fringe, 2013; and Impresario Award, Best Actor, Best Original Work at the London Fringe, Ontario, 2012, among many other accolades.
Born in Nigeria, Aluko now lives in Liverpool, England. He has fronted orchestras as baritone soloist in concert halls, and has also performed lead roles in such operas and musicals as Nabucco, Kiss Me Kate and Anything Goes. Call Mr. Robeson has won numerous awards at festivals in the UK and Canada and toured through the UK, the USA, Canada, Jamaica and Nigeria.
Aluko has also created a lecture/concert called Paul Robeson – The Giant, In A Nutshell, and another one, titled From Black Africa To The White House: A talk about Black Political Resistance, illustrated with spirituals, which has been performed on three continents. He researched, wrote and narrated to camera a piece on West African History before the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, which forms part of the permanent exhibit at Liverpool’s International Slavery Museum.
IN BRIEF: Centre Stage at City Hall (13450 – 104 Avenue) brings Tayo Aluko’s acclaimed Call Mr. Robeson: A Life, With Songs to Surrey, November 25 at 8PM. Tickets are $25-30, including all fees. For advance tickets call Surrey Civic Theatres Box Office at 604-501-5566 or visit tickets.surrey.ca. Tickets will also be available at the door.