Images from BookJam3

The third monthly BookJam took place at the Silverbird Galleria in Lagos on Saturday April 24. Here's writer Igoni Barrett who started the BookJam series (left) with 'God of Poetry' author Uzor Maxim Uzoatu, one of the featured writers at the latest event. Author of short story collection 'From Caves of Rotten Teeth', Barrett has become a leading advocate for writers and writing in the last year. 2009's highly successful Nine Writers Tour, was his brainchild. I guess we'd call Igoni Barrett a literary activist now.



Uzor Maxim Uzoatu greets Toyin Akinosho, the General Secretary of arts advocacy group CORA (the Committee for Relevant Art). Akinosho maintains the popular Artsville column in Nigeria's Sunday Guardian. In the background is playwright Wole Oguntokun whose theatre company lays on Theatre @Terra. Thanks to him, a play is performed twice every Sunday at Terra Kulture, Lagos. The play for May is Oguntokun's 'The Other Side'.



The BookJam is packing them in on the last Saturday of every month and features 3 writers every time. On the programme for April were Karen King-Aribisala (lecturer at the University of Lagos and author of 'The Hangman's Game' as well as 'Our Wife and Other Stories'), Uzor Maxim Uzoatu and Wole Oguntokun, who read from his playtext, Gbanja Roulette.

Among the poems read at the event by Uzor Maxim Uzoatu was 'We Will Vote With Stones', which has extra resonance now, given that one of Nigeria's most reviled military dictators, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, has had the gall to reveal he's gunning for the presidency - to rule Nigeria again! - in 2011. Here's hoping a hail of stones drives IBB the evil genius back to his hilltop mansion in Minna, and that he stays there not showing his face, for the rest of his days. That's the hope, the reality in Nigeria nearly always trumps logical conclusions. If only this were fiction and one could fix the ending.

Images courtesy QF Photos.

Vagina Vagina

The Vagina Monologues is one of the more popular not to mention recurrent plays in Lagos, in a Nigerian adaptation known as V-Monologues.

Now that I'm here in Lagos, I constantly find myself quite involuntarily calling it 'Vagina Monologues' which is something people hardly ever do over here. The initial impulse seconds afterwards is to seek to apologise and say: "Sorry, in England we call it Vagina Monologues" (I find myself saying 'in England we...' a lot; relocation anxiety?). But I always resist this urge to apologise or explain. Instead I go all confrontational: "Why it is called V-Monologues here? It's Vagina! It's more honest, in-your-face for a supposedly in-your-face play, and it sounds better!"

And it does, but that's Naija for you. Perhaps the reason the corresponding male version is known as 'Tarzan Monologues' rather than the 'Penis Mono' - you know what.

Anyways, it's all on again, as the male and female versions go head-to-head at Terra Kulture, in Lagos, every Sunday at 3pm & 6pm. See the poster for details. Meanwhile, I'm still here saying: Vagina Monologues. Onwards ever.

Sunday-Sunday Drama

Excerpt from Toyin Akinosho's Artsville column of yesterday...
"Now, Live Drama Happens Every Sunday
- THE playwright Wole Oguntokun and the arts promoter Bolanle Austen-Peters have revived a 50-year-old idea to have a drama performance in a respectable venue in the city of Lagos at least once every weekend. Theatre at Terra is the latest incarnation of the initiative that gave rise to a period of sustained performances at the J.K. Randle Hall in Onikan in the 60s and the birthing of J. P. Clark's Pec Repertory Theatre in the same venue 26 years ago. In October, which is the second month, Theatre At Terra will feature Femi Osofisan's The Engagement (October 7), Zulu Sofola's Wizard Of The Law (October 14) and two plays by Ahmed Yerima: Yemoja (October 21) and The Twist (October 28). Theatre At Terra grew out of Oguntokun's Season Of Soyinka's Plays, a one off series of live drama performances over four weekends at Terra Kulture last August. At the end of the well-attended Season, produced in commemoration of the Nobel Laureate's 73rd birthday, the collaborators realised they had hit upon a do-able project. There are thousands of Nigerian plays all over the place; why not take one each every weekend and breathe life into it? Terra Kulture has always been considered a smart place to hang out, especially by the Lagos Peppersoup Elite (roughly defined as the species of middle class Nigerians who earn 150,000 plus a month and can afford to travel for holidays once a year). So, getting an audience to fill the 100 seats in the auditorium for N2,000 each has not been extraordinarily difficult. Even so, to put quality work on stage requires more than the N200,000 guaranteed by a full hall."

The first in this month's Theatre@ Terra 'A Gathering of Eagles' productions, Femi Osofisan's The Engagement (directed by Sunkanmi Adebayo), was performed yesterday @ Terra Kulture, Tiamiyu Savage Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Coming highlights this month

• Sunday October 14 - The Wizard of Law by Zulu Sofola (directed by Gbenga Adekanmbi);
• Sunday October 21 - Yemoja by Ahmed Yerima (directed by Segun Adefila); and
• Sunday October 28 - The Twist by Ahmed Yerima (directed by Theatre@ Terra convener, Wole Oguntokun).

Guarantee Trust Bank's sponsorship may be in the offing to keep this important new initiative going. More info...

Drama: Kongi's Harvest

A Season of Soyinka Plays

~

Every Sunday in July

~

@

Terra Kulture

Tiamiyu Savage V.I, Lagos

~

*Kicks off with a play by Wole Oguntokun

(Who's Afraid of Wole Soyinka?),

then continues with works by the man himself.

• 1 July: Who's Afraid of Wole Soyinka? - written by Wole Oguntokun
• 8 July: The Lion and the Jewel - directed by Tunji Sotimirin
• 15 July: Death and the King's Horseman - directed by Segun Adefila
• 22 July: Camwood on the Leaves - directed by Lekan Balogun
• 29 July: The Jero Plays (Trials of Brother Jero & Jero's Metamorphosis) directed by Wole Oguntokun

Broken Walls

Broken Walls is a new play by Wole Oguntokun. In a collaborative production with the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital (Yaba Psychiatric Hospital) , there will be a performance at the Agip Recital Hall of the Muson Centre, Onikan-Lagos on Sunday the 13th of May.

Written & directed by Oguntokun, Broken Walls explores the travails of the mentally ill, and the effects on their families and community.

• Cocktail reception @ 6pm. Play commences @ 7pm

Anatomy of a Woman

Nollywood star Stella Damasus-Aboderin stars

in Wole Oguntokun's play, Anatomy of a Woman

is at the Muson Centre, Lagos,

on Sunday 25th March @ 3pm & 6pm.

JasonDrama

A scene from Jasonvision's production of Ola Rotimi's play, The Gods Are Not To Blame. Directed by Wole Oguntokun, the play was staged in Lagos as part of the Muson Arts Festival, on October 28.

Wole Oguntokun is in the directorial mode again on Boxing Day. He directs Wole Soyinka's The Swamp Dwellers - as part of the Jasonvision Legend Series.

The Swamp Dwellers is on at the Agip Hall, Muson Centre, Lagos, on Tuesday December 26 @ 3pm & 6pm.

Tickets cost N2000 for Adults/ N1000 for students (with ID).

There is a musical pre-show with the group, Nefretiti feat. Adunni.

For information & tickets, please call: 0802 301 3778 / 01- 897 1691 / 01- 813 6229.

• The Gods Are Not To Blame image - courtesy of Wole Oguntokun