Explorations 2026: Blue Joy Theatre Company

Freedom

Freedom, created and developed by award-winning multidisciplinary artist and creative producer Mohammed ‘Ayo Busari’, is an interdisciplinary performance exploring what it means to seek, lose, and reclaim freedom across diasporic Black and African identities. Blending theatre, live music, spoken word, storytelling, and design, this visceral and poetic work journeys between Nigeria and Australia, tracing how freedom is shaped by colonisation, migration, memory, and belonging.

At its heart, Freedom asks: What does freedom truly feel like? And for whom is it withheld, delayed, or denied? Grounded in reflection, resistance, and release, Freedom invites audiences into an intimate exploration of identity, community, and the ongoing search for belonging.

The work has also been developed with support from the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts’ Studio Program.

Creatives:

Mohammed ‘Ayo Busari’ – Director, Writer, Performer, Composer

Shelby McKenzie – Assistant Director, Co-Dramaturg

Jess Nyanda Naanod Moyle – Performer

Tao Issaro – Sound Designer

Afeif Ismail – Dramaturg, Mentor

Prince Attwood – Collaborator, Research Associate

Oli Hughes – Collaborator, Research Associate

Blue Joy Theatre Company – Producing Company

 

In the final act of the show, multi-disciplinary artist Ayo Busari asks, "What does freedom look like?" An apt thesis for this incredible performance that takes you in many directions, without the urgency for a definite answer.
Leila Marshall, Fringefeed

References to oppression, and displacement

accessibility_percent50.svg Visual Ratings: 50%

Aural_Rating_50%_Symbol.svg Aural Ratings: 50%

Suitable Age: 15+

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La Mama Explorations 2026 is supported by the Cybec Foundation and the City of Melbourne Multi-Year Arts Grants Program