Olamide Babatunde
The second edition of Lagos fringe festival is set to take centre stage for another unforgettable open-air cultural experience. Scheduled to begin November 19–24, 2019. The six-day festival will hold at the several venue such as Alliance Francaise, British Council, Ikoyi and Freedom Park, Lagos Island. Participants and visitors are expected from Canada, Brazil, Ghana, Portugal, South Africa and the UK.
The festival is modelled after fringes across the globe where performers are offered an unrestricted marketplace where they can showcase their works. It cuts across all genres of arts. From the performing to visual arts, it is all encompassing, and has something to offer the young and old.
The festival allows for its producers, to cater to the burgeoning population of budding creatives who can’t afford to appear on more restricted and conventional platforms. According to Brenda Fashugba, Festival Producer, working on the theatre festival with British Council for about five years has made it possible to envision the fringe as a stand-alone.
“We are taking a stand in the space of development for people to come and access free workshops at no cost. This is been done to feed the creative ecosystem of creativity in Nigeria,” he said.
Whether you are looking forward to being in the audience or performing, there is a range of experience to look out for. The Open Mic talent hunt is one of the highlights of this year. A cash prize of N200,000 will be given to the winner as decided by the judges and advisory board. This is a stake higher from the previous year that had a variety of shows ranging from stage plays, audio tour, to film screenings.
Festival Director, Kenneth Uphopho, affirmed that the shows were carefully curated to create an intriguing experience for all. “We present works that remove barriers between actors and audience, retell our narratives creatively use space to intensify audience appreciation of the art.
“The shows are always presented in repurposed spaces not necessarily focused on the conventional. The stories are timely and relevant, too, inspiring a sense of community partnership, engaging conversation and prompting audiences to reflect on the stories long after they have left the venue.”
The festival returns this year to reconstruct stereotype narratives around women and the performing arts using “creative transitions” as an interrogation to the culture of silence fostered on women.
There will be live shows, theatre, panel discussions, workshops, playwriting classes and screening of short films and documentaries selected for local and international filmmakers. The children event will run for two days of fun and learning. Kids will be treated to face painting, bicycle riding, games, and movies.
The Lagos fringe marketplace is another enticing feature to look out for. It avails entrepreneurs to showcase services and brands to the teeming visitors. Awards will also be given to deserving members of the creative industry who have carved a niche in their respective fields. The aim is to foster an interface between them and up and coming acts as role models.
The free access festival will be opening at Alliance Francaise, Mike Adenuga Centre which with an official launch ceremony. Film screening and performances at this venue will be free to the public for 19 & 20 November 2019.
Second venue will be at Freedom park-segmented into 15 mini venues which will present very exciting programmes that include seminars and conference on topics regarding arts &health with Julian Caddy CEO Brighton Fringe, Rea Mokone; representative from Vrystaat Arts Festival, South Africa and the British Council.