54.60 Africa

London June 2025.

The fate of Africa rests solely on the zeal and chivalry of eleven adventurous friends. Their ancestral ’mother’ gives them seven days to prove to the rest of the world that their fabulous continent is worth celebrating and not burying. Their journeys traverse fifty-four countries, countless boundaries, and endless risks. Lives, history and destinies are rewritten forever.

54.60 Africa is an exhilarating, cross-cultural pan-African encounter inspired by the travels of its author who accomplished visiting every one of Africa’s then fifty-four nations, before his sixtieth birthday.

This edition of 54.60 Africa was published to coincide with the production by the Arcola Theatre, in association with the Elufowoju jr Ensemble, in June 2025.

Femi Elufowoju jr, born in Hammersmith, West London is the Creative Director of the company Elufowoju jr Ensemble. His quest to place the heart of Africa on the global stage stems from his love of his home nation Nigeria and the untold stories of trials and triumphs from the many countries that form the continent.

Femi Elufowoju jr’s recent engagements include his new national touring production of The Little Prince adapted by Inua Ellams for Fuel. In 2019 his reinterpretation of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie for Watford Palace Theatre and Arcola Theatre was described as a ’radical new reimagining’ by The Guardian. In the same year Screen International announced he was set to step behind the camera and direct his first feature film, the UK-South Africa co-production Incensed, with principal photography commencing in Durban, South Africa.