SOMETHING ABOUT SPECTACLE
When the National Troupe of Nigeria decided to stage the musical titled, “Spectacle’’, the first thought was: “Why spectacle?’’ For any theatre artist, spectacle as a title is as commonplace as drama, comedy or song. But looking at the content of the four-part piece, it is a mirror of the Nigerian state and there really is no better word to describe it other than spectacle. Naturally, the view on stage was beautiful. For the first time in a long while, people were turned back at the door of the cinema hall two where the performance took place. The hall was full beyond its capacity and it was pointless to admit more persons to occupy the aisle. That was good news. There was a time when brilliant performances would only attract a few but last Easter held a different tale for the theatre.
The performances began with the group performance of Nigerian folksongs. Songs transporting the audience from Ilaje to Tiv and Fulani land, making a detour along the coast of cross river to head for the eastern side, were performed. They were richly covered in descriptive costumes, some traditional while others are contemporary. The sight was not a bore rather it was a reminder of the beauty in our national unity which is the theme of the performance.
It was not just the tribal diversities that were showcased. The varieties of artistic elements of the African performance space were explored such as dance, songs, narratives, mime, masks and chants. Individual performances shone through the group performance. According to Shuaibu Husseini, who is a member of the National Troupe, some of the artists joined the troupe for different reasons. Those who came in as singers ended up dancing or drumming. The point is that the troupe trains artists to be well-rounded. If the performances were anything to go by, one could safely conclude that there are less limitations to what can be performed on stage. National theatre has been known for fully-scripted drama, performed in the same old strait-jacket framework for performing art. But, the variety show allowed for self-development and limitless talent display.
Consider the couple, who are actually couple in real life, who performed the acrobatic dance cum ballet. They told their story through dance and movements. From their view, the marital union is a continuous performance requiring duo effort to sustain. Trust is a crucial element for the marriage institution to survive. In the dance, the husband would suspend the wife in the air with his legs and turn her around and between his legs to the audience’s astonishment. The wife would exercise trust to make this possible. In reality, a lot of decisions may be taken by the husband that could alter the life of the wife. It may take the wife’s trust to support the husband on such decisions and the end result will look like a perfect finish, even if it isn’t. That was the nature of the expressive duo performance.
Have you seen obsession yet? Well, it came in form of a dancer on stage that evening. After a group performance, this dance freak kept at it and she was simply electrifying. Her husband in the sketch tried to stop her so that they could go home but she wouldn’t budge. Eventually, the husband joined her in the dance and led her home cleverly. Maybe that is another marital tip expressed in dance that even when the wife is stubborn, the husband may have to stoop to conquer.
The artistic director and CEO, National Troupe of Nigeria, Akin Adejuwon, was thankful to the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan for his unwavering support for the theatre. He also commended the cast and crew for their commitment to the production in making it a success.