THEATRE TO THE PEOPLE
It was long past 1 pm, the advertised time for the press briefing. Ford Foundation’s Representative ( West Africa) Innocent Chukwuma, Terra Kulture’s managing director, Bolanle Austen- Peters, and Terra Kulture’s general manager, Joseph Umoibom, were huddled around a glass-topped table with a posse of journalists.
Place: one of the recesses in the upper- floor gallery of the Victoria Island- based cultural centre. Everyone at the press conference already knew the reason for the event. An SMS sent all round made that clear: Terra Kulture will be collaborating with the Ford Foundation on a theatre in public spaces initiative.
The point was to show that theatre can thrive even in the absence of purpose- built infrastructure. For dyed- in- the- wool thespians, this is a faint echo of the famous battle cry, “the show must go on”.
“We believe talent and creativity should not be limited or held back by want of proper facilities, but that we can make do with what is available and by being innovative and creative we can use what we have to get what we want,” elaborates a statement by the cultural centre, which has in recent times been in the frontline of the crusade to bring back the stage productions. “We believe that success with the initiative will inspire the growth and proliferation of neighbourhood theatres, help develop talents, create employment and help get kids off the streets.”
Soon, the theatre- loving public should expect a series of stage productions in public schools, parks, playgrounds and open spaces, where they would be easily accessible to the juvenile audience. The plays to be staged are those with social messages deemed “educative, informative and capable of instigating change.”
Understandably, this not- for- profit project is not only a way of giving back to the society, but also for influencing positive change in it. Its primary audience is expected to be drawn from the neighbourhood public schools. There are also plans to reach out to community associations, which are expected to spread the word about the project to their neighbourhoods.
Explaining the Ford Foundation’s role in the project, Chukwuma said it’s a way for his organisation to come back to its legacy. Indeed, arts and culture used to be its focus before it got attracted to other sectors.
Beyond providing entertainment, theatres productions have employment-generating potentials. Austen-Peters disclosed how amazed she was to discover talents among the youngsters of these under-privileged Lagos neighbourhoods.
Perhaps, what is most interesting about the project is its reach- out to the less- privileged Lagos neighbourhoods. It will for instance be taking off on Saturday, June 27 with a play titled, Batonga, which is directed by Gbenga Yussuf at Bishop Howells Memorial Grammar School along St Finbars Road, Akoka, Bariga from 4 pm.
Featuring 25 cast members, Batonga tells the story of 14- year- old Faith, who lives in a small village in Benin. Because her father, who had lost his wife, is struggling to feed his family of four children, he easily falls prey to the temptations of Stella, the village’s “agent” for fixing up children in jobs in Nigeria. How can he not consent to Faith getting education and, at the same time, remit a percentage of her wages to help feed his family?
Faith sets out into an uncertain future in Nigeria after saying his goodbyes to her family. There, starved, exhausted and scared, she is met by “Auntie” who takes her to her new home. She, even when barely given enough to eat and beaten for the most trivial reasons, works from 5 am to 11pm. Her situation deteriorates from a difficult to terrible one.
She soon encounters other children, who are victims of child molestation and have been used to traffic drugs.
But a worried Jacob wonders why he hasn’t received any news much less money from Faith. With Stella, he sets out in search of Faith, who eventually runs away from Auntie’s home. While Faith goes through an ordeal, which is fallout of her escape, her father continues to search for her. Soon Stella comes to the realisation of her wrong ways and their consequence.