Performance of Anansi- the Trickster Spider: A West African Folktale
Grumbling Gryphons Traveling Children’s Theater, an award-winning educational theater celebrating 45 years, will perform Anansi- the Trickster Spider: A West African Folktale on Friday, August 8th at 2 pm at The Mattatuck Museum. The performance is open to the public and will feature summer theater campers with Grumbling Gryphons actors. Anansi- the Trickster Spider is a well-known, comical character and infamous trickster who originated in Ghana with the Ashanti people of Western Africa. This vibrant tale, "How Anansi Brought the Stories Down", tells how Anansi, with the aid of the children in the audience, tricks the various animals of the jungle and retrieves the stolen stories of the world from Nyame, the Sky God.
Musician Jeff Guzinski on keyboards, four professional Gryphon actors, along with the cast of children from the week-long theater camp portray a variety of lively characters. Daniel Saed of West Cornwall plays the lead role of Anansi-The Trickster Spider. Natalie Resto and Grace Persaud play multiple roles including honey bees along with the campers. Leslie Elias, director and playwright, plays numerous roles in the production, including the comical characters of Crocodile, Monkey, Lion and Queen Bee. Ms. Elias has served as Artistic Director and co-founder of Grumbling Gryphons for forty-five years. She is the recent winner of the 2023 Connecticut Artist Fellowship Award, the FY2024 Artist Respond Grant and winner of the 2018 Connecticut Arts Hero Award. In 2018 she won the Culture Max Award given by Northwest Connecticut Arts Council for Arts Educator.
The theater company is renowned for its fantastic masks and captivating costumes, made by Ellen Moon of Cornwall, CT., and for its innovative interaction with children. Grumbling Gryphons has been performing in schools, museums, libraries and festivals throughout the United States since 1980. In 2003 they won the Connecticut Governor’s Arts Award. They are now celebrating their 45th year of providing educational and participatory theater throughout New England and beyond.
