An excerpt from
Sankofa the Musical

Scene Two

The scene changes to a flashback that begins with vibrancy and colour. A bustling, late 1940s Accra, the capital of the Gold Coast, comes to life. It is a literal cacophony Hawkers gather everywhere around the old suburb of Jamestown. It is an amazing cosmopolitan scene where African fabric is being sold and yams and plantains are being fried.

(Running around, market people selling their wares, fisherman hauling their wares)
WAAKYE WOMAN
YES Sir? What do you want!? One egg eh? Anything else? Meat? Noodles? What else? That will be 2 cedi.
HAWKER
ICE WATER! ITS PURE! ICE WATER!
ICE WATER! ITS PURE! ICE WATER!
FISHER MAN
HERH! KOFI! Pull that net from out of the water! Don’t let it drag on the ground ooo!

ENSEMBLE

(Everyone temporarily stops what they are doing to sing)
Welcome to an interesting place
Where the sand and sea meet
Where the promise of something bigger is in the air
But we hustle to make ends meat

MARKET WOMEN

(singing)
There are waakye to be sold

FISHERMAN

(singing)
And fish to be hauled

ENSEMBLE

(singing)
And money to be made
But we bold work towards a brighter future

It is also a scene of growing tensions between Ghanaians and their British oppressors. 

ENSEMBLE

(British constables walk by, singing)
Though the enemy is everywhere…
(Everyone resumes the activity that there are doing. There is a lot of noise)

This is the scene that greets Matilda, a young, vibrant woman, fresh off a boat from the United Kingdom. Her and her adoptive parents, a missionary couple returning to the country. Matilda is enthralled and enchanted with this country; a country which she has been told so much about but know very little about.

MATILDA

(Rushes in with her suitcase, with her parents in toe looking for the hotel, singing)
What a joy to see, everybody here
Look exactly like me!
(Starting to wonder off, looking around the marketplace, still singing)
It is so overwhelming 
The sights and sounds here are amplified
I am so excited to see thatI am not out of place
That I can settle in
And maybe, just maybe call this place h-

MATILDA'S MOTHER

(Yelling)
MATILDA! MATILDA! Come along we have to check in!
(Matilda runs to grab her mother’s hand and walk with her parents towards the hotel)

There are people selling their wares, cars buzzing around, people talking in Twi and Ga, and British constables strolling around. The constables are an unnerving sight to many Ghanaians, often seen as a threat, rather than a welcome force.

ENSEMBLE

(singing)
The Gold Coast
It is all about what we have and what we can produce
The Gold Coast
It is nothing like our past
Of a country that we once ruled

This is the scene that greets Matilda, a young, vibrant woman, fresh off a boat from the United Kingdom. Her and her adoptive parents, a missionary couple returning to the country. Matilda is enthralled and enchanted with this country; a country which she has been told so much about but know very little about.

Scene three

Scene switches to Matilda and her parents make their way to the hotel, where they are greeted by Matilda’s pen pal, Kuukua.

MATILDA

ENSEMBLE

(Kuukua runs to embrace Matilda, much like sisters, even though it is their first time meeting each other. Matilda’s parents go off to reception desk to check in)
It is so good to finally meet you!!

KUUKUA

(Still holding onto the arms of Matilda)
It is good meeting you too! I can’t believe my British pen pal is here! All my friends will be so jealous ooooo… 

MATILDA

I doubt it! I am not anything special

KUUKUA

Anything special!? Chale, no one I know has a broni friend ooo! I will be the talk of town!

MATILDA

Oh, I am not sure if I want that. I just want to blend in, see Accra through everyone else’s eyes
(Matilda looks wistfully around the busy lobby)

KUUKUA

Well you have come to the right place! I will show you all the wonders of this city on your holiday. Leave it all to me.

MATILDA’S FATHER

(Walks up to the girls with his wife after finishing checking in)
Well we can head up north knowing that Matilda will be good hands! 

MATILDA’S MOTHER

We are just so sad that you won’t come with us to help spread the Gospel
(She cuddles Matilda)

MATILDA

I know by Kuukua promised me a good time in Accra and I just couldn’t pass the opportunity up

KUUKUA

Don’t worry Sir! Matilda will be completely safe in Accra; I know this place like I know jollof rice!
(She loops her arms with Matilda and gently backs with her to towards the exit)
But for now, you should head the veranda, grab a drink, and relax while we get started looking around Accra, eh?

MATILDA’S MOTHER

Ok, but Matilda don’t stay out too late!

MATILDA

I won’t!!!
(Matilda yells as she breaks into an excited jog with Kuukua, elated at this new city she is in)