By Henry Akubuiro
After a five-year lull in its critically acclaimed playreading sessions, the National Troupe of Nigeria resuscitated the engaging drama programme, Play Reading Session, the 32nd in the series, last Thursday evening, with Makinde Adeniran’s play, Beggar’s Opera.
The PRS was institutionalised in 2001 during the tenure of Prof. Ahmed Yerima as the Artistic Director of the National Troupe of Nigeria, in furtherance of the troupe’s mandate to encourage creativity to achieve excellence in the performing arts.
The playreading session, which was attended by dignitaries, including the Artistic Director of the NTN, Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed, teed off with the reading of the play by a select group of thespians, simultaneously with the performance of dramatic excerpts from the play, at the National Theatre Marquee, chaired by Professor Tunji Azeez, who was glad that “the owners of the theatre are here”, in reference to the dignitaries present.
He also thanked the artistic director for reviving the programme, which, he said, “has led to many people to sharpen their understanding of playwriting,” recalling, “It was something that many people looked up to. I hope and believe that, going forward, the tradition will be sustained under your watch and beyond.”
Dr. Shaibu Husseini of the National Troupe of Nigeria, who served as the emcee for the programme, while tracing the foundation of the programme two decades ago, said, hitherto, attention was concentrated on dancers, drummers, musicians at the NTN, with little attention on playwrights who produced the scripts used in acting on stage. Hence, the PRS was created to encourage the development of Nigerian playwrights.
“The thing about the playreading session is that, sometimes, we find a play that has been corrected after it has been critiqued, and the National Troupe will then find sponsors and undertake to produce the play,” said Husseini.
The Artistic Director of the National Troupe of Nigeria, Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed, in his opening remarks, said the event was the first playreading session of the NTN this year, adding that he involved academics and theatre practitioners to critique Beggar’s Opera professionally in the presence of the playwright such that the National Troupe would be proud to put it on stage.
Beggar’s Opera is a socio-political drama predicated on the trials of political and human rights activists during the General Sani Abacha despotic regime in the 1990s, whereby activists were hunted by the maximum ruler, leading to their unceremonious flight out of the country.
In his criticism after the session, a stage designer, Mr. Abbey, with the National Troupe of Nigeria, advised playwrights to allow the stage designers to choose the best props to dramatise their plays rather than include it in their scripts. But Prof Azeez countered it, saying it was part of what a playwright should include in his script as a guide to the stage director and others involved in the production process.
The playwright, Adeniran, while responding to feedback from the audience after the reading session, traced the origin of the play to his “accidental” days in exile.
He said: “I was part of the people in exile with Prof. Wole Soyinka. As a matter of fact, I was the youngest. I didn’t plan for it. It was a mistake that they took me along. I went to perform a play, and ended up as one of those who wouldn’t come back home.
“I write most of my plays as an intervention. They are informed by the situations I see. I write them and walk away, because, the moment I have done that, I release myself of that burden.
“So I was caught up in that confusion (anti-Abacha protests). I saw the Soyinkas and Fawehinmis running all over the place, thinking they were fighting. I saw all of us as beggars. At that time, if any of them was killed, they would have said they were old enough to die.
“But, if I was killed, I was a young man, who was so confused and looking at those great personalities running all over the place, beggars like me, I wasn’t sure we could get out of it. So the pain and anger informed this play.
“It was also an attempt for me to speak in Yoruba to the global audience. I spoke in Yoruba from the beginning of this script till the end. My thoughts were deep. This play is my account of what transpired that time.
“The characters in this play reflect Wole Soyinka, Gani Fawehinmi, among others; and the ‘Apocalypse’ character is me, who had nothing to say but to look on and keep hoping. Of all the stray bullets, Dada survived, but he was not even fighting to survive, though he got high symbolism.”
Speaking to journalists at the end of the programme, the artistic director said he was excited to bring back the playreading session to the National Troupe of Nigeria, adding that the agency would ensure the revival of the session.
He noted: “The Play Reading Session promotes good literary works of Nigeria across the country and beyond. It gives a good contextual feeling of the works of the playwrights.”
“Play reading sessions are as important as the acting itself, because it reveals the real mind of the writers.
“Play reading also provides an expository text in works of playwright for theatre critics and experts, so that they can suggest how the play can be improved upon,” adding that, bringing back the play reading session was part of the mandate of the agency.
“What we do is to make the writers understand the techniques of writing plays from the perspective of bringing academics to analyse and make informed comments.
“This is the 32nd edition, but we have not had it for the past five to six years. Now, we will strive to bring the culture back to the National Troupe of Nigeria.
“This is what we want to be seeing, and it is part of the NTN budget approval. So, we hope in the year, we will ensure that we have play reading every quarter,” he said.
The playwright, Makinde, was satisfied that the outing had served as a capacity building exercise for him, even as he expressed delight that the session had created a lasting impression on the audience.
The playwright is a broadcaster and a creative director, who has directed notable plays, like Wole Soyinka’s Death and the Horsemen; Femi Osofisan’s Who’s Afraid of Solarin; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor DreamCoat, Ajantala and Odun-Ifa.
Others include Ola Rotimi’s The Gods Are Not to Blame, Zulu Sofola’s Wedlock of the Gods, Muje-Muje, A Resting Place (Festina, 2004), Opera Wonyosi (Muson Festival, 2005), Jesus Chris Superstar, Saro, Taxi Driver, M & Mrs Ieh the Musical, Aremu, and Awo the Musical.
Among the dignitaries who attended the event were the University of Lagos dramatists, Dr. Tunde Sotimirin, Dr. Cornel Onyekaba and Dr. Toyin James; Barr. Mike Anyanwu, the inhouse playwright at NTN. Also present was the Head of the Children Creative Station, Pamela Arnold Udoka.
Biodun Abe, former President of NANTAP, represented the General Manager, National Theatre, Prof. Sunnie Ododo. Israel Ebo, current NANTAP President, was also in attendance. Mr Steve James, the former president of Guild of Nigeria Dancers, was also present, as well the Crown Troupe of Africa leading spirit, Segun Adefila.