Ethiopian playwright Banna Desta releases an audio drama set in the Aksumite Empire.

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

Desta told the BBC: “I wanted the audience to be entertained by the play because it’s funny, but I also wanted to add another dimension to people’s understanding of Africa.”

“I wanted to write about a time when the continent was not plagued by colonialism and had prosperous societies,” she says.

The Abyssinians is set in the 5th century of the Aksumite Empire, also known as the Kingdom of Aksum.

At its peak, Axum was a wealthy and influential monarchy that spanned the areas of present-day northern Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, southern Saudi Arabia, and western Yemen. It lasted nearly 1,000 years, from approximately 100 BC to 960 AD.

This is where Christianity first came to Africa and where the continent’s first coins were minted.

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

In the 3rd century, it was considered one of the four great powers of the world, along with Persia, Rome, and China.

“Aksum seems to have been completely left out of the picture. Ethiopia is a cradle of civilization, but it feels never included in our understanding of world history,” says Desta.

She chose that part of the world and that period of history because of her personal connection. She was born in the United States to a mother from Tigray, northern Ethiopia, and a father from Eritrea, the very region that was the center of the former Aksumite Empire.

“I felt an urge to learn more about pre-colonial times. I thought a good place to start would be with my own heritage and ancestral lineage.”

Released by Audible and directed by Shariffa Al, The Abyssinians is Desta’s first audio play. It is a tragicomedy that combines historical facts and the author’s imagination.

The play is “about how people maintain their humanity during times of tremendous change,” Desta says.

It tells the story of a monarchy at a crossroads in history.

As Queen Yodit struggles with social and economic upheaval and clashing beliefs about religion and rights, she must decide which of her twin sons, Kaleb or Negus, should succeed to the throne. There’s also romance.

“Queen Yodit is… complex, regal, cunning, raw, sensuous and compelling,” says Bafta-nominated actress Danielle Deadwyler, who plays the role.

The character of Yodit is loosely inspired by the real-life queen Yodit (or Judith), who ruled at a different time than the one in which the play is set.

She is a figure shrouded in mystery due to a lack of historical records and conflicting folk legends about who she is.

Desta, who traveled to Ethiopia as part of her research for the play, says she is seen by some as having played a dictatorial and instrumental role in Aksum’s downfall.

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

“I think a lot of times the character of a female leader has to be ‘right,’ and I like the idea of ​​women becoming tyrants in this period of history.”

Writer James Baldwin once said that artists are “emotional or spiritual historians.” And these words resonated deeply with Desta when he was writing the play.

“I wanted to explore the full spectrum of human emotions – the characters’ private feelings and the difficulties they face as human beings that have nothing to do with their public roles,” she told the BBC.

Queen Yodit was a character that Desta felt had little love in her life.

“A lot of her reactions to the world come from a place of not feeling valued as a partner and not feeling established or chosen to be a leader,” Desta says.

Another female character written to break stereotypes is Makeda, played by Arsema Thomas of Bridgerton spinoff Queen Charlotte fame.

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

Despite being set in the ancient world, The Abyssinians’ dialogue and dry humor make it feel modern and relevant.

Queen Yodit especially likes to make disparaging comments during serious moments.

The work includes an original Ethiopian jazz score by Ethiopian-American musicians DA Mekonnen and Andrew Orkin and features Ethiopian-born multi-instrumentalist Kibrom Birhane.

“The score is similar to and complements the tone of the play, because a lot of Ethiopian music has an ancient quality to it, and jazz has that kind of modern feel,” Desta said.

Tony Award winner André De Shields described appearing in The Abyssinians as “an opportunity to return to an ancient culture” and an example of “the power of art to transform lives.”

It was very important to Desta that the characters be portrayed by black diaspora actors.

The cast also includes Zainab Jah, winner of the Best Actress Award for Farewell Amor at Fespaco, Africa’s premier film festival in 2021.

Chukwudi Iwuji, who began his acting career at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Phillip James Brannon, best known for his Broadway roles and film Contagion, also star.

“The talent was incredible, and I’m especially grateful because I know that doesn’t really happen with a lot of early playwrights,” Desta said.

Desta’s next goal is to stage The Abyssinians with the same cast.