The International Central Working Committee (ICWC) of TheatreMania Africa Festival (TAF) has inaugurated the jury for this year’s awards.
The virtual inauguration, which took place on Sunday, had TAF Board of Trustee (BOT) members, ambassadors and media partners updated on the programme, with the modality for the 2025 festival also discussed.
TAF Legal Adviser, Otunba Olu Adenodi administered the Oath of Commitment on members of the jury, including the marketing and sponsorship team.
Veteran Nollywood actor, Norbert Young heads the 5-member jury that includes Lydia Gifty Hagan (Ghana), Kehny Obafemi (Canada), Mamela J. Aisha J. Rafahlema (South Africa), and Jacinta MacJob (Nigeria).
In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer/Co-Founder, TAF, Mr. Alayande Stephen said the festival will be a pot-pourri of activities, ranging from Thespian Nite, Street Theatre, Generation Next Theatre for Secondary Schools, Stakeholders Roundtable, Africa Rise Against Malaria (ARAM) Advocacy, Peace Walk, Theatre + Fashion (The METALIC), Command Performance, and Awards Nite.
According to him, with the theme: ‘Beyond Borders: Celebrating the Global Reach of African Theatre’, the TheatreMania Africa Festival 2025 will kick off on October 14 at Shodex Gardens, Ilupeju, Lagos, with the grand finale holding at Radisson Blu, Ikeja, Lagos on October 17.
In his acceptance speech, Norbert Young, who spoke on behalf of jury members, said they are extremely grateful for the call to serve the theatre industry, adding that the jurors will do their best to be “unbiased, just and credible.”
With the jury inauguration, submission of entries for the awards is now open, from March 17 till August 30, 2025. Contestants can log onto: www.theatremaniaafrica.com/awards to fill the form and submit a link (YouTube or Google drive) of the full HD video coverage of a stage production that represents the category being entered for.