Lagos Theatre Festival: Chioma Onyenwe to stage play on Aba women’s riot

As the Lagos Theatre Festival holds its sixth annual showcase from the February 27 to March 4, 2018, notable film producer, Chioma Onyenwe makes her debut in stage entertainment with a play on the historic Aba women’s riot.

Titled ‘August Meeting’, Onyenwe says the play was born out of the idea that feminism in Nigeria is not a new construct, but one which is rooted in our history.

“There are women who stood for what was right and fought together for equality. Unfortunately, history is not being taught in our schools anymore, so there is an urgency to use this medium to remind us of who we are as a people and what we can achieve together,” she explained.

With a breath of fresh air, Onyenwe looks at the aftermath of the Aba women’s riot in ‘August Meeting’. In the play, the women of Oloko, fresh from participating in the protest have come back home to build on the success of the protest. This time around, the battle is not against the white man but against their husbands and the laws they have created to keep the women under lock and key. But fighting the devil you know is not as easy as it seems…

Directed by Kenneth Uphopho, the play stars seasoned actress Gloria Anozie Young, crooner Ego Ogbaro, Ijeoma Aniebo, Inna Erizia, Odera Orji and Deola Gimbiya.

Written by Paul Ugbede, the play which premieres at Agip Hall, Muson Centre on March 2-3, 2018, has information on the different shows on www.augustmeeting.com

Also debuting at the Lagos Theatre Festival from February 28 – March 4, 2018 at the Freedom Park is ‘3SOME’, a psycho-erotic drama about marriage, desire and morality in the internet age by award-winning writer and filmmaker, Jude Idada.

source: Thenation