Hye’s Picks: d’bi.young anitafrika’s ‘Sankofa Trilogy’

In 2005, d’bi.young anitafrika wrote and starred in their first biomyth monodrama*, blood.claat, followed by benu, and word! sound! powah!. The multi-award winning trilogy introduced d’bi.young anitafrika’s innovative approach to Black gender-queer feminist dub theatre to the city.

This production of The Sankofa Trilogy features several new-generation designers and production/stage weavers who are part of Black Theatre School (BTS).

What is the Sankofa Trilogy?

The trilogy consists of three biomyth monodramas* following the lives of three generations of Sankofa womyn: Mudgu, Sekesu, and Benu. Performed by d’bi.young anitafrika, all three stories traverse the intersections of gender, race, class, cultural legacy and the presence and power of the Yoruba Orishas Yemoja, Osun, and Oya.

In blood.claat, Mudgu Sankofa, the 15-year-old protagonist, navigates their relationship with their menstruation, the blood of the violence they witness, and the cycles of love, life and death in their family.

In the second play, benu, Sekesu Sankofa, Mudgu’s offspring, battles postpartum depression while navigating the alienation, invisibility and abuse Black womyn experience in the healthcare system.

In the third and final play, word! sound! powah!, set amidst a socio-political upheaval based on Jamaica’s 1980 election, Benu Sankofa (Mudgu’s grandchild) joins a collective of radical poets, and together they use dub poetry to challenge systemic injustice, wielding words as weapons against the political corruption that they witness every day.

Below is my conversation with d’bi.young anitafrika. We discuss her career, the evolution of each monodrama, and this latest production.

Show Schedule

Each play will run for one week, ending in a marathon repertory weekend accompanied by Caribbean catering and a dancehall session on October 11, 2025.

blood.claat: September 23–28, 2025
- September 24 Opening Night and Book Launch: dubbin theatre vol 1: the sankofa trilogy
- Black Out Night: Friday, September 26
benu: September 30–October 5, 2025
- Opening: October 1
- Black Out Night: Friday, October 3
word! sound! powah!: October 7–10, 2025
- Opening: October 8
- Black Out Night: Friday, October 10
Marathon Weekend features all three shows back-to-back: Oct 11-12: blood.claat: 2pm, benu: 5pm, word! sound! powah!: 8pm
Dancehall Session – October 11 at 10pm, FREE community party hosted at The Theatre Centre featuring a live DJ spinning dancehall, reggae, and afrobeats