…as BAFA celebrates African, diasporic storytelling
By Flourish Joshua
The excitement of the Bradford African Festival of Arts (BAFA) 2026 continued into its third day, as audiences gathered at Bradford Arts Centre for an eclectic evening of theatre, dance and storytelling as part of the festival’s Multidisciplinary Theatre and Drama Night.
The programme offered a rich range of performances, including Esther’s Revenge, written and directed by Kenneth Uphopho; Orita (The Crossroads), a Yoruba folktale theatre production by Ajidn Studios Productions, written and directed by Ajide Adeyemi; and an Afro-Caribbean Dance presentation by Tricia Arthur-Stubbs and Jojo Mani. Together, the performances reflected the diversity of African and diasporic artistic expression, moving effortlessly between theatre, folklore, dance and cultural storytelling.
One performer who particularly caught my attention was Anthonio Ghattie, whom I had watched open the festival with a spoken-word performance on Monday, 3 August. Two days later, he returned to the stage in a very different capacity, as a lead performer in The Statue.
There are performers who enter a stage, and there are performers who make the stage feel like their natural habitat. Ghattie demonstrated that he may well belong to the latter category.
Better known for poetry and spoken word, Ghattie revealed another dimension of his artistry through theatre. His performance was confident and engaging, particularly in the way he balanced dramatic seriousness with well-timed comedy. The humour created moments of release without diminishing the emotional weight of the story, a balance that requires considerable awareness of both character and audience.
His spoken-word experience was evident in his command of language, vocal projection and timing. Yet he did not simply deliver lines like a poet; he inhabited the theatrical space with physicality, interaction and character.
Speaking after the performance, Ghattie described the production as an opportunity to stretch himself beyond spoken word and embrace the demands of character, ensemble performance and dramatic storytelling.
Christopher Iheuwa, Film and Theatre Performance Director, was equally enthusiastic. He praised Ghattie’s ability to blend seriousness and comedy while keeping the audience engaged and expressed excitement about his talent and potential as a performer.
The performance also received strong feedback from BAFA Festival Director Dr Olushola Kolawole, alongside distinguished guests and arts professionals in attendance, including representatives connected with Arts Council England.
Within such a diverse programme, Ghattie’s performance stood out as another example of the artistic versatility at the heart of BAFA. From Yoruba folklore and contemporary theatre to Afro-Caribbean dance and spoken-word-infused drama, the evening demonstrated the many languages through which African and diasporic stories can be told.
For Ghattie, The Statue was particularly significant. Having opened BAFA through spoken word and returned as a lead actor, he demonstrated an artistic progression that increasingly brings together poetry, theatre, storytelling and cultural expression.
When the Statue spoke, Ghattie stepped beyond words, and the stage revealed another dimension of an artist increasingly unwilling to be defined by a single discipline.