A Portrait of Ludmilla as Nina Simone Theatre & Performing Arts

A Portrait of Ludmilla as Nina Simone is an intimate and dazzling journey through the life and work of the iconic ‘High Priestess of Soul’.

A unique theatrical and musical work, accompanied by David Lescot on guitar, Ludmilla Dabo sings chapters of Simone’s life; men’s violence, religion, her study of music, a career built on a shattered dream and her political commitment are all reflected through the rhythm of some of her strongest songs.

Ludmilla Dabo is one of the most recognised actresses on the contemporary French stage, and a favourite performer in David Lescot’s plays. Her collaboration with Lescot has been particularly fruitful over the last few years, with leading roles in his last two musicals. Dabo was awarded the Best Actress Award by the Prix du Syndicat de la Critique Littéraire, the highest theatrical award in France, for Lescot’s Une femme se déplace in 2019.

In this play, a personal ode to Nina Simone, Lescot and Dabo retrace the stages of Simone’s life and the bitterness and anger that led to the success of soul’s greatest priestess. A young musical prodigy, Eunice Waymon aspired to become the first black pianist to perform in a classical concert, but she was refused entry to Philadelphia’s celebrated Curtis Institute – she was black, and for the rest of her life she mourned the loss of her destiny.

Finding refuge in the creation of her own jazz music, she became ‘Nina Simone’, an iconic singer and one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. An activist and major figure in the civil rights movement, Simone used her music to fight relentlessly for equal rights, with songs such as Mississippi Goddam and the Emmy Award-nominated ‘Nuff Said!
Written by Lescot for Dabo, who grew up with Simone’s songs, this piece weaves together the story of Nina Simone with Ludmilla’s life journey, a tribute Ludmilla pays with brio and great sensitivity. Dabo also shares her own experience in a fight that has lost none of its relevance. In a personal interview within the piece, Ludmilla shares her difficulties and questions about her time at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Paris, shifting the stakes from Nina to Ludmilla. The play ends with a sublime duet between Ludmilla Dabo and David Lescot, a moment of grace and reparation.

Nina Simone reincarnated… a talent that explodes – Le Monde

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