Anyone who has come in contact with the many shapes corruption takes in the Nigerian society will relate to The Thespian Family Theatre and Productions’ recent staging of Femi Osofisan’s play, Altine’s Wrath. Here is Altine Jatau (Zara Udofia), who is married to Lawal Jatau (Abiodun Kassim) a permanent secretary in a ‘lucrative federal ministry’ but who gets less than human treatment from her man, who should not just offer protection but also love.
But as the play unfolds, the joke is on Lawal, who drives Altine like a slave and thinks she has nothing to offer, not even a voice of her own. Because he thinks his wife is not only a deaf mute but is also uneducated he goes as far as bringing home his women and does all his illegal business of land grabbing and bribe taking – in his case higher than the given 10 per cent – in her name. She dutifully does whatever he says, no matter how demeaning it may be, and thumbprints all the documents. Altine is however bidding her time and when the time comes for her to take revenge, she becomes ruthless and shocks not only Lawal, but his concubine, as well as his business partner, Alhaji Maikudi (Aaron Garvey), and the audience at this production.
The message? Corruption is deadly and what is more; even the innocent, like Altine, may well suffer its consequences, which is why she lies dead shortly before the curtains fall.
Staged to fight corruption and other ills in the society, including rape, Thespian Family could not have chosen a better cast and crew to tell this age old Nigerian story.
Directed by Nissi George, this production also stars actors like Shaffy Akinrimisi-Bello, Owumi Ugbeye and Ife Salako with Thespian Theatre’s Artistic Director, Lookman Sanusi, and even its Executive Producer, Ayo Jaiyesimi, in the building.
It was indeed an enjoyable evening for the audience who chose to spend time at the production that started slightly behind schedule with a dance routine by three dancers.
Planned to be interactive, however, the audience did not seem to catch on until later in the play when they had been thoroughly thrilled by the stellar performance by each of the actors.
There were lots of laughs, many thanks particularly to Ife Salako (Ahmed) and Owumi Ugbeye (Miriam). This production was imbued with the right balance of humour, stagecraft, set design, costume and all else that make a production tick. Of particular note is the complete transformation Altine’s character undergoes when she comes out of her shell. At this stage, the audience lets out a collective sigh.
For the first time in a long while, the theatre company did not have a full hall at the Agip Recital Hall of the Muson Centre in Lagos for the evening show. But what is heart-warming is that the company held an earlier production at the National Theatre, Lagos, that included readings. Certainly, theatre is making a comeback.
