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 29th
to Sunday 30th 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.
