Some Stage Plays In The Repertoire The Bayelsa State Troupe has produced many stage plays in the last three years. Some of the bills include the following: About "ISAAC BORO" by Simon Ambakederemo Isaac Boro addressing his people Major Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro, unfortunately, lived at a time when our people did not quite understand and appreciate his vision and resolve to the people of the Niger Delta a pride of place in the scheme of things in Nigeria. As Tony Tebekaemi rightly posits, not all Nigerians believe that Major Isaac Boro was a hero. However, there is no doubt that we have now come to realize that what major Isaac Boro died, fighting for, is what the leaders of the Izon race, and indeed the Niger Delta people, are fighting for. Isaac Boro was a visionary leader and his memory will continue to be fresh in our minds. The present agitation for resource control in the Nigerian state is what Isaac Boro believed in, and fought for when he declared independence for the Niger Delta on February 23, 1966 with his Niger Delta Volunteer Force. It is gratifying to note that our dynamic leader, the Governor-General of the Izon race, His Excellency Chief D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha, the first Executive Governor of Bayelsa State, who had a very close relationship with late major Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro, is sustaining the spirit of Boroism in the present socio-political ambience of the Nigerian nation. The play, gt;Isaac Boro, written by Chief Simon Meshu Opuwari Ambakederemo, the first Executive Director of the Bayelsa State Council for Arts & Culture, is a modest attempt at recreating history through drama, thus bringing the memory of our fallen hero closer to our consciousness. About "DANCE ON HIS GRAVE" by Barclays Ayakoroma ALAERE: We only want our rightful place in the affairs of the state! OLOTU: Stop making fun of state affairs. You think these matters are for eggheads? This is not kitchen politics. War is imminent in the land of Toru-Ama. King Olotu and his chiefs are preparing to do battle with the people of Angiama for abducting their daughter and encroaching on their territorial waters to fish. Refusing to sit back and watch their sons die in their prime in a senseless war, the women decide to put a stop to the madness by starting a war in their families to bring the men to their senses. They resort to using the weapon of stubbornness in the home front by refusing to sleep with their husbands. The effect on the men is devastating. In a frustrated bid to nip the women’s revolt in the bud, a chain of unforeseen actions and reactions intriguingly unfold. Dance on his Grave is a statement on the need for mutual co-existence; that two wrongs cannot make a right. It is also an epistle for women liberation in the Niger Delta. About "MANGROVE IN THE DESERT" by Ineye Johnny-Dudafa Sarcastically as the production title implies, "Mangrove in the Desert" is the irony of our existence as an ethic nationality. Every body knows that the mangrove never grows in the desert, but the agents of state oppression, perpetrators of injustices have made it so in our country, Nigeria. Sadly, as the case is, it is the wealth (oil) explored in the Niger Delta that is being used in developing other cities, at our own peril. Moreover, oil reserves built at their backyard, thus making the mangrove to grow in the desert. The production, spiced with songs, music, and choreography is the tale of woes, deprivation, underdevelopment and sufferings, people are subjected to in the Niger-Delta region by the exploiters. But lending credence to the dream of our Izon leaders, mostly especially His Excellency, Chief D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha, the fist Executive Governor of Bayelsa State and the Governor-control of Izon race, an unrepentant advocate of resource control, "Mangrove in the Desert" professes that Niger-Delta region will "triumph," once there is unity of purpose, and recognition of the efforts of our leaders. About "CASTLES IN THE AIR" by Barclays Ayakoroma Alhaji Mustapha was just a successful businessman, content with running his businesses. However, his vision and dreams about the future of his family changed in a few seconds due to a short letter from his brother-in-law. His son, Aminu, was to marry and father a son within twelve months and the family gets ten million Naira. To Alhaji, it was more than an IMF condition, but then Aminu had to be married before it was too late; to Hajia Binta, the money should be forgotten; and to Aminu, it was an opportunity to quickly marry his heartthrob, Stella. Unfortunately, this choice does not meet the approval of his parents, and Chief Emotari, Stella’s Uncle. On the other hand, to Stella, the marriage has to wait, as she is not a breeding machine, and cannot guarantee giving Aminu a child, not to talk of a son, within regulation time. If she had to marry Aminu, there should be no conditionality. To Chief Emotari, if Stella marries Aminu, his plans would be counterbalanced as he had concretized arrangements for Stella to marry an honorable commissioner, and eventually become a commissioner herself during the second term of the executive governor. Castles In The Air is a drama about a gift that tears family and friends apart; it is a drama about traditional prejudices about inter-tribal marriages between various ethnic groups in Nigeria; it is a drama about people who have all built their own "castles in the air". The question is: what do you expect in the end? The play, Castles In The Air, draws extensively from Kuldip Sondhi's With Strings, which has been adapted to reflect the Izon cultural milieu. It is yet another play from the creative fountain of Barclays Ayakoroma, the Executive Director of the Bayelsa State Council for Arts & Culture. The video film version of Castles In The Air, for which Barclays Ayakoroma also wrote the screenplay, is already in the market. About "PEPPER SOUP"by Elechi Amadi Iselegha (Ichela),an unemployed musician, had paraded himself as a chief during a fatal two-week London tour. The outcome of the trip was that he "catches" a white girl who falls headlong in love with him. Unfortunately, she did not know that in Nigeria, "there are chiefs and chiefs, including jobless musicians". Iselegha's problems start when Mavis, the English girl, writes to say that she was ready to marry him; and his Nigerian girlfriend, Ineba, tells him that she is pregnant. Guided by his fellow jobless musician, Oti, who acts as "Mr. Fix it", Iselegha drives Ineba, and prepares to roll the red carpet for the arrival of Mavis. But there is a loophole in the plan as Ineba stages a comeback at the nick of time, and Iselegha becomes a man in the centre of a "clash between two women". Written by Capt. Elechi Amadi (rtd.), a physicist by training, a former Permanent Secretary, Commissioner for Land & Housing, and later Education, Pepper Soup has an important message: no matter the wars we fight at any level (international, internal, inter-tribal, communal or the home front), there is need for lasting reconciliation. This is only when we can forget the ravages and scares of our traumatic war years. Okutuate (Oti), Ogbotubo (Ineba), Romeo (Mavis) & Ayakoroma (Ichela) Romeo (Mavis) Ayakoroma (Ichela), Ogbotubo (Ineba) About "GRIP AM" by Ola Rotimi Igoin is a poor farmer who had been content with his subsistent living, but for his cantankerous wife, Imbrobro, who never stops reminding him that he would die a poor man. His worries are compounded when he realizes that children from the neighborhood have made sport of plucking fruits from an orange tree he had planted in his compound. Events took a different turn when in the midst of a quarrel with his wife, an Angel turns up to make peace, saying that God had heard their prayers, and that he had been sent to give then one power each. The condition is that each of them is to ask what he wants most, and God will do it for them. To Igoin, it is payback time for all the children from the neighborhood, who come to pluck his orange with impunity. Consequently, his request is that if he catches any one on top of the tree, once he says: "Grip Am", the person should be gummed to the orange tree, until he releases him out of pity. Paradoxically, Imbrobro’s the target is her husband. Since he had chosen to die a wretched man, she asks that Death should come and kill him, so that she would have peace. Incidentally, Igoin’s first victim is Landlord, who had come to collect his rent. The condition for Landlord to get his freedom was the forfeiture of the house to Igoin, and all the accumulated rents. Imbrobro realizes that the request of Igoin was not useless after all, because he uses the orange tree, not only to dispossess Landlord of his house, but gives Die, when he (Die) comes to kill Igoin, Technical Knock Out (TKO). A theatre is where a nation thinks before itself. "Grip Am", written by the late Prof. Emmanuel Olawale Gladstone Rotimi is a comedy that is an entertainer any time, any day. Let us share in this humorous dramatic experience; and remember that you can always use what you have to get what you want, once you are determined. About "THE FAMILY"by Comish Ekiye The Rivers State Council for Arts and Culture first performed The Family in September 1973 at the Cultural Centre, Port Harcourt. Change, it is said, is inevitably permanent but ironically most resisted. Yet it is a condition that is so self-evident, resisted and dynamic that no man has ever been known to have survived it. To change change is to bring life to a standstill and, of course, cause generations to degenerate, giving way to self-destruction like the legendary Frankenstein monster. Thus the lack of understanding of this unchangeable realism of change has become the bane of humanity, as exemplified by the family in The Family. The play opens up new vistas for the fostering of a more wholesome and fulfilled family life as well as serve as a melting-pot of irreconcilable differences induced by generation gaps. A rallying point for family entertainment any day, The Family is sure to make your time a most worthwhile and memorable one, to watch the performance or even, to read the play. The Family embodies the frailties, intrigues and unpredictability of life as well as advocates the need to let people be themselves. WHAT LATE PROFESSOR OLA ROTIMI SAID ABOUT THE FAMILY "Hi Comish, I know I’ve said this with a compulsive repetitiveness that a cynical snigger by you may be understandable. All the same, I want to assure you (unsolicited, yes, but I ‘m in love with the damned play) that action to public (by a reliable and reputable Press). The Family (which we’re reviving here again incidentally) will soon begin. I use the play as a base for dramaturgic analysis and feel it deserves wider, much wider accessibility. Any how, when you hear from a publisher (or two, for you to choose one), know what‘s happening. Before the year runs out – I promise. Cheers. OlaR 4-4-91" About "BATTLE ROYALE"by Jethro Freeborn & Barclays Ayakoroma This is a very hilarious drama sketch of about a childless couple, whom their neighbors always disturbed. A young boy intentionally throws his football at the woman while she is doing her laundry outside. Out of anger, the childless woman beats the boy, who after escaping from her, goes home to call, Ofoniere, his mother. His fat mother comes prepared for battle, but she is also beaten. The boy runs out to call his father, Okpukpa, who responds as a matter of honor to defend his family. Fortunately, the childless woman’s husband also returns and it becomes a battle between two families. Okpukpa threatens to deal with the couple but he is caught off-guard as he is about to pull off his shirt to fight. His entire family is beaten thoroughly and they are left there on the ground to bemoan their fate. Angered by the disgrace, Ofoniere abuses Okpukpa, calling him a lazy man who could not defend his family. In reaction, he threatens to beat her. However, Ofoniere call off his bluff, challenging him to a wrestling match in the village square for them to know who is the stronger of the two. The Town Crier proclaims the message to everyone in village; he adds an addendum that those who know their wives are thorns in their flesh should quickly register to wrestle also to decide ‘who is who’ in every family. He tells the villagers, and any one who cares to listen that his wife had not been allowing him to rest so he was ready to teach her some lesson. On the D-day, the village is agog. The people are divided along gender lines – the women have their own wrestling procession (anda ogele) and the men have theirs. The first couple wrestles and the man throws his wife. There is jubilation among the men for proving to be men. The Town Crier, who comes next, runs amok in the arena, seeing that the time had come for him to beat his wife publicly. Unfortunately, he was not that lucky as his wife wins the bout, to the joy of all the women. The Town Crier becomes a wreck as he exits, bemoaning his fate. Finally, the main event takes place: the Battle Royale between Okpukpa and Ofoniere. There is anxiety in both factions as the wrestling match commences. It is a tough one but at last, Ofoniere capitalizes on an opening and pins Okpukpa to the ground. He signals for the referee and his fellow men to come to his rescue, but to no avail. He finds himself disgraced, as against his expectation; his wife beats him. The men leave the village square in shame, while Okpukpa could not sum up courage to get up from the ground. On the other hand, the women celebrate their hard-earned victory as the wrestling dance (anda ogele) assumes a frenzied dimension. All plays performed by the: Bayelsa State Troupe Artistic Director: BARCLAYS AYAKOROMA PhD
