BBC is presenting 18 original plays as a festival of British Theatre under the banner BBC lights up, partnering with theatres around the country, celebrating creativity and resilience. Buttercup is a one woman show from an idea by Odile Mukete and 20 Stories High and captured in what looks like a stand-up stage in a bar. it is written and performed by Dorcas Sebuyange, a Liverpool based Congolese poet and singer.
The presentation style is a mix of Liverpudlian storytelling, close up reading of her poems in front of a microphone and recreations of the interactions with the women who shaped her life, and she adapts her accent and style for each element. In the story telling she uses the language of the young today in a vibrant energetic and engaging way. In her poetry she is darker quieter and disturbingly powerful in her language and phrasing. In the recreations she combines Congolese language and accents and English in short segments that provide insight into the culture from which she is emerging into modern Britain. Each short scene and switch from style is separated by a camera cut or fade.
