Some people love musicals. I am not a fan (there, I said it!). That’s why I rarely pay attention to notices about new ones in the making. That changed last week when I saw the announcement for a musical at the Old Vic about the 1985 Live Aid concert, which raised money for the devastating famine in Ethiopia. It made me sit up and take a deep, slow breath.
That’s because Live Aid was so much more than just a concert for me. It left a lasting and unpleasant legacy that has shaped the story of Africa and how the world sees us. It marked a catalytic moment that sealed Africa’s image as a broken continent and defined it for an entire generation. Thirty-eight years later, were we really going to relive our worst moment – as a musical, no less – and retell the story for a whole new generation?
