The Beggars’ Strike tells the story of an Islamic West African community caught between the pressures of traditional and contemporary values. The government wants to increase tourism as a source of revenue and so decides to rid the city streets of the ragged beggars. But the beggars are essential to the spiritual life of the community, and they know it. As the government plans to remove the city beggars, the beggars decide to strike. The farcical conclusion includes an avalanche of mistaken identities, hilarious chaos, and befuddled orders.
first presented at The Children’s Theatre Company in 2002
Aminita Sow Fall, author
Carlyle Brown, playwright
Kysia Bostic, composer