Ethiopian playwright Banna Desta is releasing an audio drama set in the Aksum Empire

Playwright Banna Desta brings an often-overlooked ancient African civilization to life in her latest work, a gripping audio drama about an increasingly tyrannical queen and her scheming twin sons.

“Apart from wanting the audience to enjoy themselves because the play is good entertainment, I wanted to add another dimension to people’s understanding of Africa,” Desta tells the BBC.

“I wanted to write about a time when the continent was untouched by colonialism and there were prosperous societies,” she says.

“Abyssinians” takes place in the 5th century in the Axum Empire, also known as the Kingdom of Axum.

Aksum was a wealthy and influential monarchy that, at its height, covered the territory of modern-day northern Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, southern Saudi Arabia, and western Yemen. It lasted for almost 1000 years, from about 100 AD. BC to 960 AD

It was there that Christianity first came to Africa and the first coins on the continent were minted.

It lay at the center of the trade network between India and the Mediterranean, and its ships controlled the Red Sea trade via the port of Adulis and the inland routes of northeast Africa.

In the third century, it was considered one of the four great powers of the world, next to Persia, Rome and China.

“It seems to me that Aksum is completely excluded from this picture. Ethiopia is the cradle of civilization, but I feel that it is never part of our understanding of world history,” says Desta.

She chose this part of the world and that period of history because of her personal connections. She was born in the United States to a mother from Tigray in northern Ethiopia and a father from Eritrea – the same areas that were at the heart of the old Aksumite Empire.

“The impetus was simply a desire to learn more about the pre-colonial era – and I thought a great place to start would be my own heritage and ancestral lineage.”

Released by Audible and directed by Sharif Al, Abyssinians is Desta’s first audio play. This is a tragicomedy in which historical fact is combined with the author’s fantasy.

The play is “really also about how people hold on to their humanity during periods of enormous change,” says Desta.

It tells about the monarchy at the crossroads of history.

Queen Jodith must decide which of her twin sons – Caleb or Negus – should succeed her on the throne, while she struggles with social and economic upheaval and conflicting beliefs about religion and rights. There is also romance.

“Queen Jodith … is complex, regal, cunning, raw, sensual and compelling,” says Danielle Deadweiler, the Bafta-nominated film star who played the role.

The character of Jodith was somewhat inspired by the real Queen Jodith – or Judith – who reigned at a different time than the play’s setting.

She is a person shrouded in mystery due to the lack of historical records and conflicting folklore about who she was.

Some see her as dictatorial and instrumental in the fall of Axum, says Desta, who traveled to Ethiopia as part of her research for the play.

“I thought she was a good starting point for that type of character,” says Desta.

“I think often female lead characters need to be so ‘on point’ – and I love the idea of ​​a woman being a tyrant in this period of history.”

Writer James Baldwin once said that artists are “emotional or spiritual historians” — and those words resonated deeply with Desta as she wrote the play.

“I wanted to explore the whole range of human emotions – the personal feelings of the characters, the things they struggle with as people that have nothing to do with their public roles,” she tells the BBC.

Queen Jodith was a character that Desta did not consider very beloved in her life.

“A lot of her reactions to the world come from not being valued as a partner and not necessarily feeling like she has a place or that she’s chosen to be a leader,” Desta says.

Another female character created to break stereotypes is Maceda, played by Arsema Thomas from the popular Bridgerton spin-off Queen Charlotte.

She is sent to work as a servant in the royal household to pay off her father’s debts. But she’s also someone “who can think for herself, can think bigger than her station in life, and is a global thinker.”

Although the action takes place in the world of antiquity, the dialogues and dry humor in “Abyssinians” make it modern and relevant.

Queen Yodith especially likes to throw a sarcastic comment right in the middle of a serious moment.

The production includes an original Ethiopian jazz score by D. A. Mekonen, an Ethiopian-American musician, and Andrew Orkin, as well as Ethiopian-born multi-instrumentalist Kybrom Birhane.

“The score matches and complements the tone of the piece,” Desta says, “because I feel like a lot of Ethiopian music has such an ancient quality, and jazz has a kind of modern twist.”

Tony owner Andre De Shields described taking part in Abyssinians as “an opportunity to return to our ancient culture” and an illustration of “the power of art to change lives”.

For Desta, it was important that the characters were played by actors from the black diaspora.

The cast also includes Zainab Jha, who won the 2021 Best Actress Award for Goodbye Love at Fespaco, Africa’s leading film festival.

Chukwudi Iwuji, who began his acting career with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the UK, and Philip James Brennan, best known for his Broadway roles and Contagion, also star.

“The talent was extraordinary,” says Desta, “I know that doesn’t happen to many early playwrights, so I’m especially grateful.”

Desta’s next goal is to bring The Abyssinians to the stage with what she hopes will be a similar line-up.