A musical production that tells the story of Chifundo Mercy James, the Malawian orphan adopted by pop singer Madonna, will be staged at one of the largest arts festivals in the world, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland.

Written and directed by Toby Gough and produced in collaboration with The British Council and Theatre for Change, a Malawian organisation involved in HIV/AIDS awareness and education, Mercy Madonna of Malawi tells the story of the adoption process and related issues that the international media did not report on. It questions whether it is better for an orphan to live comfortably in a foreign country or live a life of poverty among her own people.

Theatre for a Change is a British Council-sponsored charity organisation that uses theatre to create a platform for young people to explore issues surrounding sex, gender and power, and to make interactive theatre performances out of their stories.

The organisation’s international director in Malawi, Patrick Young, says he first met Gough through the British Council. ‘He attended our workshops and got really inspired by the work that we do,’ says Young. ‘He then decided to associate his musical production with us and the British Council to help raise our profile in the UK.

‘It’s a great opportunity for us to be publicised to the UK audience. We are grateful to Toby [Gough] for his support for our work in the fight against HIV/AIDS.’

Award-winning director Gough says Mercy Madonna of Malawi is outrageous, irreverent and full of music. In the production, Madonna is played by Robert Magasa, who sports a blue dress, powdered face, peroxide weave and lipstick and moves majestically to the music.

‘We rewrite some of Madonna’s songs to tell the story of how she ended up in Malawi, the problems she faced, being stopped in the process [of adoption] and what Malawians feel about it,’ says Gough.

Says co-producer Hana Alhadad: ‘It is amazing to have the British Council’s support; it lifts our production to another level. Our production is topical, it has a message to it and that is what the British Council also strives to do.’

To get the untold story of the adoption saga, Alhadad’s team toured villages in Malawi, performing in English and the local language to get a sense of what people thought of the issue.

Even though language was sometimes a barrier, Alhadad says she could read what audiences were trying to say through their reactions. ‘It was special, because even though it was difficult to understand the language, we used sign language and basically mimed reactions,’ she explains.

What makes Mercy Madonna of Malawi special is that the story changes each time it is performed. ‘We usually stop in the middle of the play to ask questions about the play,” says Alhadad. ‘We ask people whether Mercy should be adopted by Madonna or stay in Malawi among her people, and we incorporate that into the storyline.’

Alhadad hopes the production will be shown to a wider audience, thereby raising funds to support the work of Theatre for a Change.

To find out more about Theatre for a Change in Malawi click here. For more information about the Edinburg Fringe Festival click here. To read more about British Council events and programmes please visit this page. Read our latest news here: News in Africa section.