“Why is it that I feel most at home in a car? Always in motion. Not daring to stand still.”
In her quest to “really” belong somewhere, Sarah Janneh always felt stuck between two extremes: Black and white. Brabant and Sierra Leone. Singer and actress. Loud and quiet. Full of life and afraid to die. Happy and grieving.
With her solo show Brabo Leone, she embraces the richness of these dualities rather than choosing one. Through musical storytelling, reflection, resilience and redefining how different phases of her life have affected her, NITE ensemble member Sarah Janneh creates a musical narrative from diverse influences in an effort to provide a more fluid and inclusive view of what it means to be at home. Her quest to find and redefine what truly belongs somewhere takes her from the carnival in Brabant to the suburbs of Johannesburg and ultimately to her father’s home in Sierra Leone.
Expect a typical NITE production; hyper musical, close and urgent. In which each song feels like a letter from another chapter in life. The music evokes feelings of warmth, loss, growth and change. Brabo Leone is a sincere tribute to the quest to belong somewhere. A co-production with MusicalMakers and Theater Utrecht.
In season 2023 – 2024, Sarah Janneh toured material in more than 30 theaters in the Netherlands as supporting act for Club Guy & Roni Invites under the name Soul Nerve. The experience gained in that tour has been the basis of the further development of Brabo Leone.
Fall Failing
“Fall Failing” is an immersive, week-long workshop for emerging performing arts professionals. This year, it brought together the two Junior Companies—Club Guy & Roni’s Poetic Disasters Club and the NITE Riders—along with students from the NAIP program at the Prince Claus Conservatory.
Over five days, they collaborated on performative interventions inspired by the Jonge Harten Festival’s theme, “Playing Around.” Audiences can experience these unique performances on November 15th and 16th, showcased between the scheduled shows of Marleen Hendrickx, MAAS Theater and Sarah Janneh’s BRABO LEONE.
Play around