SOMEWHERE between the myths and the magic, the first world and the third, lies the enchanted and beleaguered country of Haiti, the Vodou heart of the Caribbean.

As captured in the new multi-media musical production Vodou Nation, two psychedelic flowers bloom out of this tortured landscape: namely the Haitian artistic heritage and the evocative music and religion of Vodou.

The West Yorkshire Playhouse and UK Arts Productions have united to present the world premiere at the Leeds theatre from next week and subsequently on a tour that visits York Theatre Royal in late July.

Vodou Nation brings together the talents of Brett Bailey, theatre's enfant terrible in the new South Africa; Trinidadian director Geraldine Connor, associate director of the West Yorkshire Playhouse, where she created the Caribbean hit Carnival Messiah and Yaa Asantewaa; and Haitian composer, Vodou priest - and hotelier - Richard Morse and his Vodou rock band, RAM.

Created, designed and co-directed by Bailey, Vodou Nation marks Haiti's 200 years of independence by telling the Caribbean country's tumultuous history through the allegorical tale of two brothers, one representing the spiritual life, the other, the spiritual life.

An all-Haitian company of 16 musicians, dancers and singers will perform Vodou Nation's multi-media montage of dance, video, carnival and ceremony, accompanied by RAM's pulsing rhythms and ceremonial harmonies.

For all the turmoil of Haiti that has peaked anew with the overthrow of President Aristide, Vodou Nation is a vibrant work.

"This is exuberant theatre," says co-director Geraldine Connor. "It's a contemporary piece with the rock rhythms of RAM and dramatic use of movement - I don't want to say dance - to tell the story. Although it has the same roots as Carnival Messiah, it's completely different.

"The main difference is the contemporary technique of the performance. You still have the colourful costumes, but I didn't use multi-media in Carnival Messiah, whereas this time we do."

The show pointedly employs the French spelling, Vodou, rather than Voodoo.

"Hollywood has been guilty of giving the wrong image of voodoo with dolls and pins. Voodoo has been misrepresented, very much so, and so we want to take away the clichs and tell a really interesting story: the history of Haiti."

Vodou is an integral part of Haiti's culture, to the point where it been granted status as the country's official religion. "Where good in Christian religion is represented by God and Christ and evil by Satan, in Vodou you have good gods and not-so-good gods," says Geraldine.

Aside from that distinction, what else will audiences learn from the show?

"I think that, first of all, people will learn about the history of Haiti and then about the beauty of the Haitian culture which manifests itself through its music, its painting and its costume. It is a vibrant country, where people are broken by Haiti being the poorest country in the world but they are resilient rather than defiant," says Geraldine.

"It's frightening that they can have hope even in that environment, but they have to survive, they have to have hope, as they have no fallback because everything has been taken from them. Hope is all they have."

Vodou Nation, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, June 1 to 26; York Theatre Royal, July 20 to 24. Box office: Leeds, 0113 213 7700; York, 01904 623568.

Updated: 09:02 Friday, May 28, 2004