The Fury Project by Zena Edwards

​The Fury is an interdisciplinary arts exploration of the emotion of anger, and seeks to tell stories that carve paths to justice, transformation and empowerment. Using the power of spoken word/poetry, monologue, live vocals, dance and performance; the visceral nature of multi-media arts installation and techniques of inclusive artists/audience interactive debate, a diverse group of artists deconstruct the ancient Greek mythological tale of "The Three Furies" and reconstruct it for 21st century notions of Womanhood. Personal narratives are made political by the very nature of genderising and racialising the emotion of anger.

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History of the Project​​

The Fury Proejct is the brainchild of Writer and Performance Poet Zena Edwards who was invited by Jan Ryan of UK Arts Internationals, in the Summer of 2011, to devise a piece of work for the launch of the Afrovibes Festival 2012.2013 sees the The Fury project a year and a half into it's development with four phase under its belt each digging deep into the what makes anger anger and is it's role in society today. . Each phase being entirely different in its format, though using the same creative devices of spoken word, film and movement, marking the nature of the project as a true exploration of the much misunderstood emotion, Anger.

In 2012, poets Zena (UK) curated The Three Furies, inspired by the story of the Greek mythological figures of the same name. Zena, Mbali Vilakazi (South Africa) and MC/Poet Clara Opoku (Netherlands) were commissioned by UK Arts International, to create a poetry in performance piece for Afrovibes Festival 2012 funded by British Council and the Arts Council. These three female artists came together to translate, embody and embolden the energy of the Greek mythical legend of The Erinnyes. First and foremost the protectors of women and children, they were known as 'The Three Furies', the most terrifying spectres of vengeance in the ancient world. Also known as The Eumenides - "The Kindly Ones", The Furies bring balance to injustices done to the Family. ​

The trio initially devised the script via blogging and film sharing online and launched the festival in April 2012 with much support from MC Theater (NL) and the Albany (UK). Through , spoken word and song, Zena, Mbali and Clara transformed the power of this myth into contemporary representations of women overcoming trauma from cultural and institutionalized patriarchy to the jubilant affirmation of self."

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Zena Edwards - Poet | Mentor | Curator | Environmental Advocate

For 30 years, Zena Edwards has been a professional writer/poet-performer, creative educator and project developer. She studied storytelling and performance at The London International School for Performing Arts. A curator and producer of independent live and online events, Zena advocates climate and environmental awareness, equity and regeneration. Zena’s writing and performance pedagogy is rooted in identifying the connection to the body, the imagination and the Earth and her mentorship practice focuses on professional artist development that amplifies personal sovereignty and empowers collective well-being using creativity.

MC Clara Opoku - MC | Poet | Actress​​​​Clara Opoku a.k.a. Abenaa Yeboah was born in Sunyani, Ghana. Much of her work is inspired by the domestic struggles she witnessed her mother endure whilst raising a family and she continues to write autobiographically to tell stories of real life with influences from Hip Hop and dub poetry. As a mother of three herself and speaking more than 4 languages, her writing of songs, poems and plays distinguishes her from other female MC’s in the Netherlands. Since the year 2003 MC Clara became an undisputed boulder in the rap scene. She has travelled internationally and performed to support causes such as World Aids Awareness, also facilitating self-empowerment workshops around this issue to youth in Surinam, South America. Her afro-beat and Hip hop fusion album “Statement” is due for release in 2012 with a Elijah records.

Mbali Vilakazi - Poet | Climate Advocate

Award-winning South African poet, performance artist, speaker and facilitator.Her dynamic style and collaborative approach is intentionally experimental. Seeking to expand the language of text, her work is concerned with exploring a socially engaged, multi-disciplinary performance poetry aesthetic.Her awards include a Silver Medal for South Africa at the 2009 Delphic Games, a Gold Medal at the 2012 NPR poetry games and a 2015 Mbokodo Award for Poetry.