Anansi the spider: Meet the actors telling his stories

Anansi is a folklore character from Ghana that often takes the shape of a spider.

He is a popular character from West African and Caribbean history as stories about him have been told for generations, with every story having a message to learn from it.

Tales about Anansi originated during the slave trade and travelled to North America and the Caribbean.

Anansi is clever, is a trickster and his stories are usually funny and many people from the Caribbean chose to perform the stories in patois (Jamaican dialect). Now in 2022 there are theatre productions, songs and books about him.

Although he is often described as a spider, some Anansi stories describe him as taking the form of other animals and even to be human.