Thespian Family Theatre: December 2012

Q: You are staging a play this season, what is this about and where are you staging it?

‘The Mad King of Ijudiya,’ is an adaptation of the Christmas story and is a really exciting play that features a rich blend of folklore, traditional dance and music that naturally transports the audience to a typical African village setting. The story is about an awed King - King Ero ba ni'se, the great King of Ijudiya, who in the discovery of a rival within his territory, ‘flips his lid’ completely and goes to an outrageous extent to prove that he is the one ordained by the gods to rule. Even more annoying to the King is the discovery that the new entrant on the scene is a mere child. In order to eliminate the encroachment on his sovereignty by this rather strange opposition, Ero ba ni'se tries by all means to get him out of the way.

The play will be showing at the Agip Hall, Muson Centre, Onikan from Saturday 29^th to Sunday 30^th December 2012.

Q: Is there truly a Town called Ijudiya? What is Ijudiya like?

Ijudiya is a make-belief province and like Nigeria, held to ransom by various systems – Leaders -who in their ‘self-seeking’ at times become tyrants; this cuts across religious, political, traditional leaders and at times, ‘captains’ of industry ; Followers - either too timid to demand good leadership or totally blinded by tribal, religious, class divides or any other factors that make them myopic thereby preventing them from seeing the ‘big picture’ and this relegates them to living in conditions that are less than what God has ordained; Sycophants - who constantly attach themselves to the King’s courtyard, gleaning off the power, fame and enrichment, forgetting their mandates of service, empowerment and protection of their people; Oracles – represented in the greatness of our‘intellect’‘culture’ and ‘values’.

Our Intellect -Nigerians are brilliant and all over the world have contributed to the development of countries that they find themselves, proffering solutions and distinguishing themselves in those locations but this very often is a stumbling block back home in our motherland. The intellectual laurels become battlefields – battles for individual recognition pulling down teamwork and passion to elevate others, big-talk-no-walk, cruel criticism – without trying to ‘build our bits of the broken bridges.

Our Culture- Rich, powerful and diverse which is the bedrock of family , community, citizenship and social integration.

Our Values- which ‘once- upon- a- time’ revered the family unit and community, inculcated love, peaceful, co-existence and passed down a code of conduct and values system bymentoring our youth and demanding communal accountability.We basked in a system that respected the dignity of man and believed that finishing strong meant resilience, standards, perseverance and building a generation that was stronger than us, handing down the baton of our faith and the dreams and aspirations of a Nigeria standing tall amongst the Nations…

I believe that we can bring about the change that we so passionately desire and that the youth and seemingly ‘insignificant’ have great potential to bring a change if they can dream it.So, my simple Christmas story is hinged on the past, mirroring the present and birthing the future. God’s plans for us are good and not evil to give us a future and a hope …

Q: Your previous stage play - ‘The Five Maids of Fadaka’ was terrific! Tell us about that…

The Five Maids of Fadaka was a really successful theatre outing and had really good reviews. Apart from the values and lessons woven into my stories, I ‘show off’ the rich heritage we have as a nation and flaunt the diversities that we have, which if pulled together, makes us a truly unique nation. I am PROUDLY NIGERIAN!

Nigeria is really blessed when it comes to the performing arts and literature. Our folklore, our literature, our dance, our drama are not only very colourful, but also very expressive. The Mad King of Ijudiya captures all this and I am sure you will agree that this message is apt, considering what we are going through as a nation.

Q: What do you do for a living? Are you a Performing Artiste? Where did you get your inspiration?

I am a Human Resource Practitioner and Chartered Accountant, with varied work experience in the Public Service, Consulting and the Financial Services Industry. As part of my contribution to community, myself and other professionals with the same vision and passion set up the Societal Positive Impact Initiative (SPIIN). SPIIN has organs through which we try to make an impact on society and one of them is the Thespian Family Theatre. Other organs include a Youth Resource Centre and OMF Foundation for Asthma. The Chairman of SPIIN, Mr. Clement Baiye and 11 other senior professionals form the nucleus of SPIIN.

I am passionate about youth mentoring and change. I am also an avid lover of contemporary and theatre arts, and I have been able to express my love for the arts through the THESPIAN Family Theatre. The Mad King of Ijudiya, as with most of my plays such as the Five Maids of Fadaka, Okunrin Ogun and Siddon de Look, is a highly entertaining drama piece, mixed with dance and folklore. Tunji Sotimirin, lecturer in the Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos and a very popular name in the world of Creative Arts had directed two of my plays. Tunji is a very popular face on stage and Nigerian television programmes. This production is however being directed by Abiola Segun Williams a popular face on the TV Soap Opera ‘Tinsel’.

My inspiration comes from what I believe in.

I believe that ‘ Man is a product of his own thoughts and aspirations’ – Proverbs 22:9. What we believe in is therefore very important. Our parents shaped our beliefs with folklore and stories and for many of us it helped develop our values. The values of love and compassion, upholding the dignity of man and the sanctity of life, citizenship, community, teamwork and sharing were some of the values that had been shaped by the beliefs of our parents and heroes of our great country… some of these beliefs, as you can see are fast fading away since they are not being passed down to the next generation. In spite of these happenings, I believe in the positive use of the creative mind. The ability to capture thoughts, ideas and visuals into a form that others can share, is one of the greatest gifts that anyone can possess. Sadly, many people never discover this and therefore take their dreams, potentials and the legacies they could have left for generations, to the grave. It’s exciting to see thoughts evolve from mere ideas to being written and finally cyrstallise into a great project. I believe in our country and our culture. In spite of the myriad of issues, I see a beautiful land with unique people. I admire the diversities and celebrate what binds us together. The dance, costumes, folklore and cuisine are simply mind-blowing. I am however, not necessarily traditional.

I believe in Family. It is the bedrock that in most instances, determines who we turn out to be as individuals, as a people and as a nation…

Our young people in particular, need a lot of encouragement, love and investment of time and material resources to prepare them to take over the baton of Leadership of our great nation. In past generations, family roles were well defined, with everyone doing his bit. In the evenings families gathered under the moonlight to pass on values that would mold their children’s lives through folklore and songs. The community was one big family where everyone cared and was accountable to the other. Today, it’s a struggle to keep the family system from collapsing under the burden of so many issues that it contends with. Like most people, I have had my little family battles but nonetheless, it strengthened my belief in the family cell…

And most of all, I believe inGod... His supremacy … His purpose... I believe therefore that each and every one of us is uniquely crafted with awesome talents and gifts and destinies to affect our world or the lives of those purposefully planted around us. The Mad King of Ijudiya is born out of my belief…

Q: Tell us a bit more about the Thespian Family Theatre?

As mentioned, the Thespian family theatre is made up of a group of professionals distinguished in their individual fields of endeavour but with a passion for the family as a whole or specified segments of the family unit such as women, men, youth or children. The name Thespian is derived from Thespis the renowned Greek dramatist and projects the group’s standards. The Thespian Family Theatre seeks to assist in imparting an appreciation of the rich cultural heritage of the country, good behavioural values and also foster thoughts of oneness, in spite of the diversity in the Nigerian culture. Our stage plays usually have 5 unique themes /messages:

- Community and Citizenship

- Unity and Diversity

- Culture and Heritage

- Character and Values

- Family and Fun

This summarizes our core values and the messages we hold ourselves out to project. We believe that through our plays, movies and varied productions, we will be contributing to the ‘rebranding’ of this great country. Thespian Family Theatre together with the other groups in SPIIN participates actively in youth mentoring and the support of family related charities.

Q: What does the Mad King of Ijudiya hold in store for theatre lovers?

90 -minutes of rib-cracking fun! In addition, we have some of the most popular actors and actresses featuring in this unique production. We have Joke Silva, Gloria Young, Segun Arinze, Monalisa Chinda, Akin Lewis, Shafi Akinrimisi, Florence Uwaleke and Iyke Okechukwu. The shows are on Saturday at 1.30 p.m., 3.45 p.m. and 6.15 p.m., and Sunday at 3.00p.m. and 6.00 p.m. There are a number of side attractions such as the ’Heritage Fair’. Many thanks to our sponsors - FirstBank, Sensodyne Toothpaste and Stanbic IBTC amongst others. Also, we acknowledge our media partners TV4Africa and in particular those who have chosen to use this medium to give a special treat to children with challenges, orphanages or children’s groups.