Anansi, the celebrated spider from African folklore, tells the story of an African mother and daughter who are kidnapped and sold into slavery.  In prison and later on a slave ship coming to America, Shontay’s mother calms her by telling her stories of Anansi and how he inherited the box of stories from Nyame the Sky God.  The stories are about the bad things that greed can do and how every one of us is strong, even if we don’t know it.  With each story, Anansi springs to life along with the story characters for action-packed, light-hearted adventures.  Shontay plays different roles throughout, the audience gets involved and an African drummer, if available, can even accent the stories.  Taking comfort in Anansi’s stories, Shontay is no longer afraid and makes it through the grueling journey on the slave ship.  When mother and daughter arrive in America as slaves, they carry with them the folk tales and wisdom of their homeland — stories that make their lives bearable and give them meaning.  This wonderfully theatrical children’s play offers a unique perspective, imbuing the dismal tale of the slave trade with the bright, spirited folklore of African culture.

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“An imaginative re-telling of the Anansi folktales put into a new context as the tales come to America on a slave ship...Wonderfully theatrical.” Omaha World-Herald