The Furies Phase 2

Commissioned by Afrovibes in parntership with th MC Theatre Space, Netherlands and the Britsh Council Cape town, the Three Furies, is a dynamic poetry in performance project written, devised and performed by Zena Edwards (UK), Mbali Vilakazi (SA) and Clara Opoku (NL.

All three artists translate, embody and embolden the energy of the Greek mythical legend of The Erinnyes. First and foremost the protectors of women and children, they were known as the most terrifying spectres of vengeance in the ancient world. Also known as The Eumenides - "The Kindly Ones", The Furies bring balance to injustices done to the Family.

Three female poets transform the power of this myth into contemporary representations of women overcoming trauma from cultural and institutionalised patriarchy to the jubilant affirmation of self."

Zena Edwards

Zena Edwards has been involved in performance for 18 years - as a vocalist, poet and performance maker and stage-manager after graduating from Middlesex University. She has been a performance poet since 1998, performing, professionally and facilitating workshops in poetry and creative writing since 2002. She recently studied at The London International School for Performing Arts.

Raised in Tottenham, North London, Zena has become known as one the most unique voices of  performance poet to come out of London and was nominated for the Arts Foundation Award for performance Poetry 2007 and won the HiCreEC Awards for spoken word in education. She has toured extensively round the UK and Europe supported by the Apples and Snakes poetry organisation, 57 Productions and the British Council

Zena  is Creator and Director of  ©ViD - Conversations: Verse in Dialog, which is a company dedicated to new and boundary breaking work that charts and document the processes of poetry in performance or the "making of contemporary literature Live." Click for Zena Edwards full biog.

Mbali Vilakazi

Mbali Vilakazi is an award-winning poet, performer, radio producer and creative facilitator based in Cape Town, South Africa. 

Her practice is inspired and informed by the idea of ‘the personal as political’ and ‘the body as intervention’. Particular areas of interest include trauma and silence, women, young people, memory and myth-making. As both witness and participant, Mbali works with the specific intent to render visible the most invisible parts of our conversations, our communities and our humanity.

She is a fragment of open still catching the light. Click for Mbali's Website

Clara Opoku 

Clara Opoku a.k.a. Abenaa Yeboah,  born in Sunyani, Ghana, is a powerful MC, actress and song writer and youth arts facilitator.

Clara, a natural rebel, writes much of her work inspired by the domestic struggles she witnessed her mother endure whilst raising a family and continues to write autobiographically to tell stories of real life with influences from Hip Hop and dub poetry.

Aged of 3 Clara came to the Netherlands and by the early 90’s, she became C.I.A – Clara In Action – performing with  2Real, and “Da Truth” at prestigious festivals such as the  The Megafestatie in Utrecht.

As a mother of three herself and speaking more than 4 languages, her writing of songs, poems and  plays distinguishes her from other female MC’s in the Netherlands. Since the year 2003 MC C.I.A. became an undisputed boulder in the rap scene.

She has travelled internationally sharing stages with renowned artsist such as Phantom, Saskia Laroo, Georgië, Chili and Polen. Clara has performed to support causes such as World Aids Awarness, also facilitating self-empowerment workshops around this issue to youth in Surinam, South America.

Her afro-beat and Hip hop fusion album “Statement” is due for release in 2012 with a Elijah records.