He crouches on stage like a lion. He whirls through the air like a bird. A folk tale character from Africa, Anansi the Spider, appeared on a Gibsons stage last weekend in the shape of the talented performer and storyteller, Jean-Pierre Makosso. Makosso danced, sang, played African instruments and told stories to a crowd of young children at a matinée performance at the Heritage Playhouse. Most of the tales were universal: "Listen to your mother, listen to your father. They will help you grow," even if some of the situations were not. In one story of the spider Anansi and his cleverer wife Kayi, the dispute is over food. He did not share his sweet potato with her; why should she share her rice with him? It seems the bewitched pots of rice and sauce think so too. They run away before Anansi can eat them. In the end, Anansi must admit his wrongdoing and ask his wife's forgiveness before they can eat together. Makosso says in his village in Africa, stories are most frequently told in the evenings after the sun has set. In his own family of many children, his mother told stories when there was nothing to eat, and spider stories were her favourite. She knew thousands of them. This show, written, directed and played by Makosso, appeared last year in French at Le festival francophone d'ête de Vancouver and was recently performed in French at two other children's festivals - one of them in Vancouver. Proceeds from the Gibsons performances go towards helping Makosso's wife and daughter leave their home in war-torn Congo for a safer place.
