THERE couldn't have been a better way of ending the annual theatreprogramme called FESTINA (Festival of Nigerian Plays) by the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) than the glamour and razzmatazz that attended the closing ceremony on Friday, November 15, 2011.The venue was the Cinema Hall 2 of National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos. Time was 2pm and the first play of the day, The Wives written by Ahmed Yerima, directed by Kenneth Uphopho and performed by the Performing Arts Workshop and Studios began on a very pleasant note. The hall was almost filled to capacity. The piece befitted the occasion. A seven-man play, it stretches the keeping of a cherished secret beyond its limit.Tiger, the husband of three wives is dead'lying lifelessly in a white casket mounted on stage, and awaited its time of departing from the living. Auntimi (Toyin James) keeps the corpse scenting nicely with the deodorant she constantly sprays around the house. Enters Angela (Awele Onuorah), the first wife, who has obviously lived closely (in a distance, though) with Tiger. She has experienced many disappointments from her husband, but she lacks the courage to fight back. Tobi (Janet Odogwu) is the last wife. Young, fresh, pretty and delectable, she is proud of holding Tiger's heart till his last breath.Tiger, to her pride, died while making love to her. Her innocent mind does not prevent her from divulging such a shameful truth. Only Auntimi, obviously the oldest of all ladies in the clan, and a close relation of Tiger, could point out her folly at such auspicious moment. Then enters Cecilia (Ugo Obiayo), the second wife. She is divorced from Tiger for her inability to stomach all that Tiger stood for. She is a firebrand women rights activist and often acts like someone who needs no man in her life. The contrary is, however, later revealed of her. She still slept with Tiger a few days before his death!The three women have come at this critical moment to pay their last respect to their dead husband with Auntimi playing the role of 'family head' until two core family traditionalists, namely Baba Ajagbe (Gbenga Adekanmbi) the family head and Ifagbayi (Omololu Shodiya), the family priest emerge to observe traditional rights before Tiger's final burial.In the midst of hot exchanges that trail the entrance of the duo, emerges the family lawyer (Segun Dada) who reads out Tiger's will, indicating that all his wealth should go to his first son. Unknown to many, and as further exposed by the Ifa oracle, the first son is not from any of the three wives. Tiger secretly had him from the least expected member of the family, Auntimi. Pure incest!And to rub salt on the wives' injuries, the said son is the lawyer that has come to read the will. Can a man keep his most cherished secrets forever' This is the kernel of the comedy, a humorously executed piece of drama that graphically shows the comic side of Yerima.THREE hours later, 20 minutes before start time, the hall was already filled beyond its capacity. Ajigbe, performed by the Squad One Productions hit the stage. The dance piece begins with the lead drummer standing on the edge of a standing drum, his head drooping and dreadlocks flying back and forth; he schematically drops the drumstick on the drum surface, thus dishing out some irritable ritualistic sounds.While a splinter of slow dances pervade the stage, the narrator introduces the piece, which essentially focuses on Nigeria and her many troubles oil dredging and spillage, women trafficking, religious intolerance, political inflammation, Boko Haram and many more. After chronicling all these disturbing vices, the piece then beams its light on the level of cultural value and richness through which the nation can be reconstructed ' all in a flurry of dance and musical expressions. The climax presented an array of Nigeria's cultural dances: Ekombi dance from Calabar, Igunnuko masquerade dance from Nupe, Eyo masquerade dance from Lagos, Zangbeto masquerade from Badagry and many more. Ajigbe's celebratory mood underscores the height of festivities embedded in FESTINA 2011.Before the end of the dance piece, the hall exploded in a tumult, with the audience spilling from their seats to crowd the stage around. The number of people on their feet was nearly over those sitting. In fact, the cooling system had since lost its steam, but no one complained, as they were all engrossed in the magic on stage. As an enthusiastic theatre buff rightly enthused, 'I have been watching plays here since the 80's and this is the first time I ever saw this hall this full'.What about the play''It's simply awesome!
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