Oba Esugbayi is a time piece that celebrates the collective will of the people towards making Lagos a better place for all in the 19th century. A will, interspersed with love, and collaborative effort in a vision to bring about our independence as a people once governed by our cultural ethos away from colonial rules.
Oba Esugbayi’s refusal to dance to the whims and caprices of the colonial master with regards to the abuse of the girl child, water tax which led to his dethronement, and the masterful maneuver conscripted by Herbert Macaulay which aided him in winning the case of the abuse of the kings position by the British Queens foot-soldiers on the Nigeria soil at the privy council in London, sets this spectacular, exhilarating, hilarious and eclectic musical drama that celebrates our resolve to fight for what is rightfully ours through our songs that define our cultural timelines, such as highlife, jazz, African beats, songs from the 30s to the 80s and songs from our contemporary times.
It is a play that deals also with the right of the girl child, the right of women and family through the eyes and persona of Margaret Ekpo and Olufunmilayo Ransom Kuti.
It tackles the issue of rape, the strength of women and their resolve to make a change on how they are seen and treated and most of all, a love story centered on what makes us a beautiful people with diverse cultural magic.
THE PLAY will show at the Agip Recital Hall of the Muson Centre at Onikan, Lagos from December 23rd 2018 to December 25th 2018.
