Femi Osofisan’s Women
of Owu, a play, recounts events that happened years ago, an adaption.
What makes it more out
of the ordinary is that the play is an African retelling of Euripides’ The
Trojan Women. One would gain more from this play if the original book had been
read. However, more gain lies on the fact that the play would also be fantastic
to see live.
Like some other plays
such as Arrow of God, Radio Gulf, Visa to Nowhere, etc. which have been
performed live on stage by notable group of artists to the delight of the
audience, the Excellence Bridge School is offering an exciting and amazing
performance of Women of Owu.
Set in the south West
of current Nigeria which was under siege for seven years by the combined armies
of Ijebu and Ife, as well as mercenaries recruited from the Oyo refuges. The
city was attacked under the guise of liberating a market from their control but
in the end all men and children were murdered, women were taken as slaves, and
the city was burned to the ground.
For over three months,
students of the Excellence Bridge International College, Jos. have been working
round the clock to achieve a stage adaptation of this touching and instructive
story and therefore divulge issues discussed in the play which are still
current to our own time.
An interesting discusses
which will prick our conscience and be a bone of contention is who is really in
charge of our destiny? Do the gods control or create war? Or is it men who are
in control of their own fates. These ideas will be on hand in the performance
of the students of Excellence Bridge International.
Justifying the choice
of Women of Owu, the director of the play, Victor Prince Dickson said: “it is a
play within the curriculum of the students’ study which means it is something
they are familiar with. Another thing is that this play gives us an explicit background
and reasons behind so many crisis and war.”
Also disclosing the
significance of the play to Nigeria and Plateau state in particular, he
explain: “most times in Jos, crisis is credited to religion, with this
performance, we will see an encompassing play that discusses conflict in all
aspect and these replicates the issues on the Plateau and the fact that after
every crisis, it is the women that suffer the most.”
Like Owu, Plateau is a
model state. Though, Plateau once known for its prosperity and accommodative
brilliance has been threatened by a relay of violence.
In as much as so many
programmes, efforts and policies have been put in place to restore the fragile
peace, the anticipated performance of Women of Owu by the students of
Excellence bridge college will not only intimate us on how we stroke our legs
against the stone of crisis, but on how best not to strike it again.
The production is
facilitated by El-spice media group and burning.com
Johnpaul
Nnamdi
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