Belong, Bola Agbaje’s satirical play, which premiered in 2012 at the Royal Court Theatre in London, will show in Lagos during the Easter weekend.
The star-studded cast of the play by the UK-based Agbaje questions the notion of home.
Dolapo Oni
The cast includes thespians and celebrities like Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, Bimbo Akintola, Tunji Sotimirin, Toyin Oshinnaike, OC Ukeje, Dolapo Oni, Opeyemi Dada and Emeka Nwachukwu.
The Nigerian production of Belong is directed by Tosan Ugbeye and produced by Oluwanishola Adenugba.
The 75-minute play will show for three days, April 18 to 20, at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, at 2pm, 5pm and 7pm daily.
To a large extent, Belong is a light comedy about identity, stations in life and politics. It begins in London with Kayode (Oshinnaike) and Rita (Oni). The couple is at a low point after Kayode has failed in his attempt to get elected into Parliament after an embarrassing Twitter episode. As if the depression isn’t enough for a man who has sacrificed his career to misguided allegations about the racism of his equally black political opponent, along comes Akintola’s Fola, the first of a pair of truly overpowering Nigerian women. Her job is to sell the country to émigrés and persuade them to come back “home”. And she carries it out with the kind of fearsome relish that makes refusal almost impossible.
Against his wife’s wishes, Kayode decides to take a reflective break to visit his mum, portrayed by Ajai-Lycett. Mama has semi-adopted a former “area boy”, Kunle, played by Ukeje, and attempts to turn him into a local politician with a brief to modernise and remove corruption. The African curse is embodied in the wolfish person of Chief Olowolaye played by Sotimirin.
In 2010, Agbaje’s play, Off the Endz, showed at the Royal Court. Her debut play, Gone Too Far, was performed at the Royal Court in 2007 as part of the Royal Court’s Young Writers Festival, and won an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement and was also nominated for Most Promising Playwright at the evening.
