Dance, drama takes center stage at Eko Theatre Festival

Art lovers are in for a treat as the Eko Theatre Festival enters its fifth day with dance and drama taking center stage.

The weeklong carnival, which kicked off on Sunday with a media parley at the Nike Art Gallery, Lekki, Lagos, has so far featured top-notch performances from local and international artistes including the African Israeli Stage group.

The latter will be performing The Trials of Brother Jero in Hebrew for the first time in Nigeria at the festival.

Guests at the media parley included the Alayemore of Ido-Osun, Adeen Adedapo; Director, MTN Foundation, Dennis Okoro; Executive Secretary of MTN Foundation, Nonny Ugboma, and many other arts enthusiasts.

Now in its third year, The Theatre Carnival, formerly known as the Bariga Open Air Theatre (B.O.A.T) Festival is a performance-based carnival that celebrates the belief in performing arts as a viable tool for social engineering and empowerment.

Theatre artist, Segun Adefila, started Eko Theatre Carnival over two decades ago and the MTN Foundation supports this year’s edition.

Crown Troupe of Africa introduced the carnival to mark more than two decades of creative theatrical performance.

The arts fiesta, which comes to a close on Sunday, has so far incorporated several activities across different venues in Lagos.

Monday was loaded with so many activities including a lecture by Peju Layiwola as well as the screening of two films, Oriki and Bariga Boy, by Zulu 24 Media Production.

On Tuesday, the train headed to the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, where Tunde Adegbola delivered lecture.

The Israel-based African Israeli Stage headed by Yaffa Schuster, also staged Wole Soyinka’s “A Dance of the Forests” to the delight of the audience.

The National Theatre hosted the screening of ‘Ibadan and Makoko,’ a Zuri 24 Media Production on Wednesday. Both shows were well attended and professionally executed.

Mr Adefila told PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday, that the African Israeli Stage would take their performance of ‘A Dance of the Forests’ to Freedom Park, Lagos Island, on Thursday.

A visibly excited Mr Adefila also said it felt great to finally have “direct funding” for his initiative after over two decades.

He said, “For the first time ever in 22 years of training, young people in the ghetto of Bariga, we are getting a grant, a funding directly from MTN. This is a good sign for art practitioners and enthusiasts alike. It means a lot to the Nigerian arts scene.”

Meanwhile on Friday, there will be ‘Drums Invocations’ and the performance of ‘Punctuation,’ written and directed by Joshua Alabi by Kininso Koncept at Ameckor’s Dream Orchard.

The next day, ‘I’M NOT WOLE FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE!, a site specific comedy of errors devised by Toyin Oshinake’s One Six Productions would be performed by Crown Troupe Band at Ameckor’s Dream Orchard.

The grand finale of Eko Theatre Carnival, which takes place on Sunday at Freedom Park, will see a dance performance of ‘Ijo Agba’ by DGDG.

The Crown Troupe will interpret ‘The Trials of Brother Jero’ on stage. Popular Afro musician, Buga, will also perform at the closing concert.