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Outlook: My father and our time machine

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Papa's Time Machine

17/09/2020 GMT

My father and our time machine

BBC World Service - Outlook, My father and our time machine

Creating a play for my theatre obsessed father, before he lost his memory

When his theatre director father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, artist Maleonn decided to create a play just for him - but it was a race against time.

Artist Maleonn spent his childhood in the back of a theatre, watching his parents at work. Maleonn’s mother was an actress, and his father directed “very noisy” and “incredibly colourful” Beijing opera performances. Though his father was keen, Maleonn was determined not to follow in his directorial footsteps and instead chased his passion for art. But when his father began to lose his memory in 2014, Maleonn decided to create a play just for him, he called it Papa’s Time Machine. Maleonn wanted to give his father the gift that he had always dreamed of - but it was a race against time. 

Born under apartheid and in poverty, South African composer Lebo M grew up loving music and became a performer at a young age. His talent took him on a tumultuous journey from Soweto to Hollywood. As he worked on the music for Disney's hit animation The Lion King and as apartheid came to an end in South Africa, the story of those lions fighting for their kingdom took on a whole new relevance to him.

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