The October 2011 edition of Guest Writer Session organised by Abuja Writers' Forum (AWF) featured writers whose plays were performed on stage.In this piece, Tunji Ajibade notes that Nigerian writers and dramatists have once again shown what they are capable of, but necessary encouragement is nowhere in sightThere is funding for every other thing, but none for the literary and dramatic arts in Nigeria. That is the conclusion to arrive at when a group of talented university undergraduates performed two plays at the October edition of Abuja Writers' Forum's Guest Writer Session. Abiathar Zadok's Hell is a Woman was one of the two plays; the other, Who is Afraid of Oshiomhole, was written by Godswill Okiyi.What was it like putting on stage Hell is a Woman' 'I didn't want to direct a play that may denigrate women,' the Director of the play, Dr Emem Obonguko of the Theatre Arts Department of the University of Abuja said. But she read the script and decided the comedy angle to the play was worth it. And that was the angle the audience saw on stage, and for which they laughed throughout the one-hour production. 'The play was about the kind of things that women do . It is a comedy about a woman who does bad, and who does not want to change,' the director stated. She also directed the second play, 'Who is afraid of Oshiomhole' The obvious reference to the Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole was buttressed with the presence of his representative, Edo State Commissioner of Arts and Culture, Enena Jemitola. This play was about worker's activism. 'It was a revolutionary play,' Obonguko pointed out. The staging of these two plays was good. And it was, to the extent that the cast made it so; they gave it life: The police officers were eccentric, downright ridiculous. The girl, Peace, was mean as a lady with her eyes only on money, not love, would be. She used Bobby, her boyfriend, for what he could offer: 'By the time he is through with me, I would have been twice through with him.' And there was Bobby's friend, Musa. The scriptwriter gave this character memorable lines. But then, the lines were as memorable as the character made them. Musa delivered them well; his good piece of acting ' mien, gesture were there for the audience to see. There were also Bobby's neighbours 'men, women who gossiped and got into trouble with the police because Peace reported them. She lost Bobby to another woman in the end.The songs that went with each of the plays, in the course of acting, and at Light Outs, were appropriate pieces that further elucidated what the plays were about. Improvisations that took place 'on the spot' and right on stage, too, were a salute to the ingenuity of the director, and the cast whose interpretations were commendable. This was even more the case with the inadequate costumes, props, and the stage background, in the face of funding for the production that was promised but which was not forthcoming. 'We have had to make do with what we have because of lack of funding,' Obonguko added.A member of the cast and Year 3 student at the Theatre Arts department of the University of Abuja, Agbede Damilola Caroline, confirmed this, and it was her experience in all the out-of-campus productions she had participated in. This included plays such as Wale Ogunyemi's Lagbodo which was performed for President Goodluck Jonathan's inauguration, and Eniyan also by Wale Ogunyemi. Agbede stated that the story of poor feeding, and inadequate provision of welfare for casts due to lack of fund was always the same. But 'we do it with the love we have for acting, the joy of mounting stage to perform,' she stated. While commenting on this, the President of Abuja Writer's Forum (AWF) whose outfit had Zadok as its Guest Writer for the month of October said, 'When people say what they say, they don't realise what it takes to do these things,' he said with reference to the difficulty of getting sponsorship for the literary and the dramatic arts in general. 'Sometimes, it requires personally funding things,' he added. The writer of Hell is a Woman however remains undaunted, 'I will want this to be on ground,' to serve as a foundation for other productions that would follow. Other side attractions at the event included live music by the artiste known as Tokunbo. There was poetry performance by Judith Rapu, who is a lawyer. The five-year-old Veno Zadok took the spotlight as she performed: We are the future of tomorrow - A crop of dynamic and young Nigerians/we have taken on our shoulders, backs and heads/the dreams driving us to be different/we are the ostrich that will fly/the bird breaking with its past/we are the future, making tomorrow/sinking our roots today. Notable personalities present at the occasion were Mr. John Fashanu, Nigeria's Football Ambassador, Lady Brisibe Dorgu, Dr Ike Okonta, who is a social commentator; Ozioma Izuora and Chinyere Obi Obasi, both NLNG Prize for Literature nominees in 2008 and 2011, respectively.'Ajibade is a Communications/Literary Consultant. tunjioa@yahoo.com
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