Lys, aka Lysistrata of Aristophanes: An African Version

“Is all your restraint above your waist beads?”

Lys is a comedic account of one woman’s effort to end the ongoing war in her homeland by mobilizing the women around her to withhold their most powerful weapon against their spouse: sex.

This is the story of Lys: set in 1970s Ghana, in the midst of war between the Akan, Fon (Dahomey) and Ewe people. These women unite across Ghana, Benin and Togo — they band together and choose to fight for their autonomy, and harness their sexual power and agency to stop the conflict.

We elevate the voices of these women and bring this Classical Greek piece into Accra, Ghana. Through this unique auditory experience, we explore the textures of language, voice and sound to bring our audience these universal themes; the struggle for autonomy, identity, is not a new story, but our audio rendition of these themes brings this struggle into the modern age.

Listen up.

Listen to the pilot episode of Lys

Act i, sc i: Restraint

via Oroko Radio on MAY 29TH

1970s Accra, Ghana.

An adaptation of an adaptation, we are bringing a classic tale of women’s empowerment to a modern audience. Join us as we explore the multi-faceted discourse around this story.