2nd Lagos Theatre Festival begins February 28

BRITISH Council Nigeria’s second Lagos Theatre Festival themed ‘All the city’s a stage’ will hold from February 28 to March 2.

Unlike last year’s edition held inside Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, the 2014 edition of the outdoor theatre festival will happen inside Freedom Park on Broad Street, Lagos Island.

The organisers disclosed that ‘Look Left Look Right’, a multi award winning interactive theatre company based in the UK will premiere their new production ‘Make We Waka’ during the festival.

The play, they explained, is a collaboration with Nigerian performers that invites the audience to take part in an intimate promenade performance, exploring the hidden corners of Freedom Park.  Using an audio guide, participants will delve into the world of the park and the stories it has to tell.

Apart from the play, three other new productions will be staged, the result of an open call launched in September 2013 to invite people across Nigeria to submit their stories about Lagos, the most populous city in Africa.

Three stories were selected and have been turned into scripts by writer and filmmaker Jude Idada, playwright and essayist Lekan Balogun, and writer and director Wole Oguntokun.

The new works will examine themes including Lagos nightlife, the national lottery and the healthcare system and will take place throughout Freedom Park.

The British Council has teamed these writers with Lagos based theatre groups Renegade Theatre, Imagine Nigeria and Oxzygen Koncepts to work on the festival which is being managed by a team of theatre producers including Kenneth Uphopho, Daniel Effiong, Brenda Uphopho, Ifeanyi Dibia and Bukky Sanu.

“It is tremendously exciting for the British Council to be working again on Lagos Theatre Festival. Our hope is that the new collaborations taking place will captivate audiences and stimulate future work as the British Council builds towards 2015, a year that will see a major season of cultural and educational programmes take place across Nigeria,” said Connie Price, Director, British Council Nigeria of the initiative.

The first Lagos Theatre Festival took place in February 2013 at Eko Hotel & Suites. Plays were performed inside an underground car park, a garden, a restaurant and a hotel bedroom.