The 2011 edition of the Festival of Nigerian Plays (FESTINA) has turned out to be a huge song. The heat is gradually climaxing as the organisers, the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), rallies major players of the Nigerian theatre sub-sector to ensure that theatre audiences are treated to the highest level of entertainment in live performancesHOSTED in partnership with the National Theatre, the festival began with a well-attended opening ceremony on Friday October 21, 2011, with the command performance of Nigeria the Beautiful, a virtuoso poetic performance written by Odia Ofeimun and directed by Felix Okolo. After six command performances (nine full length productions) ' all showcasing total theatre: drama, dance, and music - the festival will wind up with a closing ceremony billed for Friday, November 15, 2011 with the command performance of Ajigbe by Squad One Productions.FESTINA, which was launched as one of the festivals to be made an integral part of Nigeria's cultural calendar, began in 2001 during the vibrant and result-oriented regime of Tade Adekunle as National President of NANTAP. It was devised with the purpose of ensuring that theatre practitioners are engaged in practice, to keep live theatre going and to create a moment of convergence for practitioners at a certain period within the year.'FESTINA is a festival of plays, of performances, of total theatre presentation and of theatrical celebration of our rich cultures', reflected Greg Odutayo, current National President of NANTAP at the opening ceremony of this year's edition. As a celebration of plays written, directed and performed by Nigerians, the festival's annual sustenance was regularly maintained until 2006 before the last lap of Biodun Abe's regime as NANTAP National President. In spite of daunting challenges, Abe paid adequate attention to the sustenance of FESTINA apart from creating a new project called Segun Olusola Annual Lecture Series.Since 2006, the festival suffered a hiatus due to what Odutayo described as 'many challenges confronting our association and the crunchy economic upheavals staring our nation in the face'. These had made it extremely difficult for NANTAP to keep the festival's annual flame aglow. But thank goodness, FESTINA is here again and it is waxing stronger and better, especially in the area of quality of performances.The association's myriad of problems, especially lack of funds, had stalled all attempts to host the festival. Sponsorship, which is a tough issue in artistic and cultural productions in Nigeria, has not made it easy for anyone. Originally, NANTAP had planned to produce plays that would have directly employed practitioners for the period of the festival, which would have held across Nigeria if sponsorship had been forthcoming.The committee specially set up to actualise FESTINA struggled to no avail to secure funding. Nevertheless, NANTAP was committed to the sustenance of a festival that promotes a virile stage tradition. It was in a bid to achieve positive results that the association turned inwards and became creative in its decision to engage regularly performing companies to donate their standard plays for FESTINA 2011.The idea was to get only three companies, but the number soon swelled to six. It became the more the merrier. Hornbill House presented Nigeria the Beautiful written by the great poet and culture activist, Odia Ofeimun and directed by one of Nigeria's brightest theatre directors, Felix Okolo. The play, which was used for the opening ceremony on October 21, was apt in capturing the essence of the festival. It also raised the profile of the festival.Going by Okolo creative ingenuity, the play was well-advertised in about 40 different billboards, which were used to adorn wide perimeters of the National Theatre - from the main gate via Breweries-Costain axis to the passage by Entrance C. The boards provided a fitting publicity for the festival. A total dance-theatre piece, Nigeria the Beautiful is laced with such moving poetry that revisits the story of Nigeria from Lord Frederick Lugard, the first colonial Governor-General to the current President, Goodluck Jonathan.It is a theatrical piece of history loaded with paradox and uncommon truism. It does not appear to fit the rude reality of everyday politics in Nigeria or the logic of a living space that has more languages and cultures than any other country in the world, including the most populous, all-grating against one another. Nissi George, Efe Orhorha and Gogo Ombo Gogo rendered the lines in the play, all synchronised with the energy of young, vibrant and creative dancers and music makers that make the play stand as an engaging piece of spectacle and entertainment. The opening ceremony, attended by the crme-de-la-crme of the culture sector, was declared open by NANTAP cultural ambassador and Fellow of Theatre Arts, Dejumo Lewis.Days 2, 3 and 4 of the festival which held on Friday 28th, Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th of October brought the best of Renegade Theatre in the three-day performances of The Waiting Room written and directed by lawyer-turned-thespian, Wole Oguntokun.A 4-man drama of intense, probing dialogue, the play is deeply intellectual and philosophical about life and its paradoxes. It is the story of four perfect strangers summoned to a meeting by unknown people. The strangers have no connections whatsoever, or so it appears. The play is a debate interwoven with parables, complex character interplay. In the words of the playwright, the play provides a template and a complex scenario: 'These strangers discover there is a place where luck and fate cannot save one; where natural cunning and innate intelligence must be put to the ultimate test. They must fight for their very existence' where even the most street-wise will come face-to-face with the frailness of his or her own mortality'.Reanne Weruche Opia (Kera), Jumoke Ladi Bello (Aduke), Precious Anyanwu (Don Flexy) and Smart Adejumo (Keshi) played the parts superbly in The Waiting Room. The piece is one of the best examples of theatre of interrogation.Apart from recording a full house, the performance was witnessed by various generations of families that came to watch their wads and children on stage. Ruth Benaimasia Opia and her mum were on hand to inspire Reanne Opia, Ruth's daughter. So were parents of Smart Adejumo and Jumoke Ladi Bello. It was a fantastic way of ending the second week of the festival.A week's break and the festival resumed with Day 5, Tuesday, November 8 at the same venue. Two productions: The Golden Fleas written and directed by Segun Adefila, and performed by the Crown Troupe of Africa, hit the stage at 2.00pm while Wat's Dis All About (an adaptation of Woza Albert) written and directed by Toyin Oshinaike and performed by the One Six Productions came on at 5.00pm to wrap up festivities for the day. Crown Troupe of Africa has been involved in various artistic endeavours, both locally and internationally, with its major experimental performances in the following international activities: International Theatre Day, World Refugee Day, World Aids Day, Lagos Book and Art Festival, Commonwealth Games Cultural Celebration, CULTURE SHOCK, Manchester in July 2002, 2004, and Autumn International Festival, London 2005.Crown Troupe of Africa brought its expertise to bear on The Golden Fleas. The troupe is known for its guerrilla approach to theatre. This outing in FESTINA was a totally different ball game, as it afforded it was an opportunity to explore dialogue at the expense of other elements of drama. The Golden Fleas ran for the second time on Wednesday, November 9, 2011. Adefila only recently directed Fred Agbeyegbe's Budiso, a commemorative play specially selected by the Lagos State Chapter of NANTAP to celebrate Agbeyegbe as the first recipient of the award of Grand Living Legend of Nigerian Theatre.With it, Adefila convinced many of his critics that indeed, he is fit and qualified to interpret a drama script as against his traditional dance engagements. He was commissioned last year by the Dance Guild of Nigeria (EkoGOND) to choreograph a special Independence Dance to interpret Hubert Ogunde's old music, Yoruba Ronu as part of the Lagos' celebration of Nigeria at 50 spearheaded by NANTAP-Lagos and Tunde Kelani's Mainframe Film and Television Productions.On the other hand, Wat's Dis All About is a 2-man play, a rib-cracking, high comedy that addresses several of society's oddities and follies as a nation. It addresses certain social, political, economic and moral situations while interrogating the essence of human existence. In the words of the playwright/director, Toyin Oshinaike, 'All I'm trying to say is that we should continually take advantage of the theatre in creating opportunities for wholesome reflective moments and instances, which in turn should present more dynamic opportunities to repent, readjust and re-focus.'We need to inject theatre with our various energies on platforms of continual practice and seasoned celebrations'. He concluded by asserting that the play 'gave us an opportunity to showcase the synergy that is borne out of relentless effort to sustain live theatre'. For him, his cast and crew-members, FESTINA has given them a chance to sustain such opportunity.CAN a man keep his most cherished secrets forever' This is the kernel of the The Wives written by Ahmed Yerima, directed by Kenneth Uphopho and performed by the Performing Arts Workshop & Studio (PAWS). A comedy made explosive in Yerima's quintessential satirical exploration, The Wives is a two-plot comedy that fluidly and craftily dissolves into one thus leaving the audience with enough lessons to take away. Starring Kate Henshaw-Nuttall (Angela), Carol King (Auntimi) and Olusola Roberts Iwaotan (Ifagbayi), the play's fluid language, rich sensuality and scathing humour, addresses the age-long issue of incest. The Wives is one of the performances on Day 7,which holds on Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at the Cinema Hall 2, National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos. The director, Kenneth Uphopho is a theatre practitioner with over 100 stage productions to his credit. A creative dancer and actor, he was a pioneer member, resident actor and director for the Theatre@Terra project. He was a member of the Nigerian team at the Pan African Festival (Panafest), Ghana 2004; former Secretary, Dance Guild of Nigeria (EkoGOND) and the only male member of cast at the premiere of the prestigious V Monologues in Nigeria. A young, enterprising director, Kenneth Uphopho is the Creative Director of PAWS.The closing ceremony of the festival is expected to be graced by the Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke among other dignitaries. It holds at 5.00pm. Climax of activities for the night is the performance of Ajigbe by the Squad One Productions. The choice of this piece is complimentary to that of Nigeria the Beautiful during the opening ceremony. Having started on a high note with a total-theatre piece, it becomes imperative that the same tempo wraps up the festival.Ajigbe focuses on several aspects of Nigerian life. The reality of the nation being the Giant of Africa, rich and vibrant in cultural heritage and mineral resources is highlighted in dance, music and narration.GOING by the quality of performances brought about by the healthy partnership between NANTAP and the National Theatre, FESTINA 2011 has indeed succeeded in proving that this is a year of cultural redefinition, as testified to by Odutayo in what he called 'a defining moment not only for the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners, but for all major industry players in the Culture and Entertainment Sectors'. The objective of FESTINA, which is to activate a festival of theatre performances, would never have seen the light of day, but for the partnership with the National Theatre.Clearly, NANTAP is committed to maintaining the tempo of cultural performance, with live theatre as hub. NANTAP deserves commendation for opening the space, especially these days where the lure of the screen is irresistible. The synergy that brought the six performing companies together is also a commendable fraternity in the theatre industry. This goes a long way to show the mutual love and understanding abundantly existing within the rank and file of stakeholders and practitioners alike.FROM all indications, FESTINA 2011 is a success story. But the story would have been juicier and much more meaningful if adequate funding through sponsorship had been forthcoming to assist organisers in motivating the various groups and performers. One hopes that NANTAP will begin its search for organisations with strong sympathy for live theatre and its growth in the festival next year. It is the hope of organisers that Nigerians deserve to be serve live performances across the country when NANTAP celebrates FESTINA 2012.
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