By Anote
Ajeluorou
On July 24, the
Command Performance of Sam Omatseye’s historical play, The Siege will be staged at MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos to draw
attention to raging issues of religious bigotry and nationalism. In this
interview with the director and some cast members, the essence of the play is
made manifest, as it affects current realities in Nigeria. Excerpts:
Oguntokun: “I’m a theatre producer and
director and my theatre house is Renegade theatre. I have been in the
theatre business for a decade. Sam Omatseye is the writer and executive
producer of The Siege. He conceived
the idea of the play, which is based on an original happening. Charles Gordon
was a British Army General, who was in charge of Sudan, Khartoum in the 19th
century. He was asked to leave Sudan by his government, which felt they
couldn’t hold Khartoum anymore but he thought he could hold it for his country.
So, he refused to leave.
“Unfortunately, he met a man who was as
zealous and strong as him in the person of the Mahdi, who fought to hold his
country back from the British. The play is about the siege the Mahdi laid on
Khartoum with Gordon unwilling to give up the city. It led to the death of
Gordon during the face off between Gordon and Mahdi’s men. The play’s about
people who hold and believe in their own ideologies; the two men fundamentally
believed in the cause they were fighting. It’s based on true-life story.
“The writer is telling people to sometimes
look at both sides of an altercation. Sometimes people just believe that
because I’m a Christian or Muslim, others cannot have another view point; it’s
dangerous, and vice versa. A Muslim cannot try to impose Shari’a, for instance
on others, be they Christians or not. In any situation where two sides are
fighting, each must try to look at where the other is coming from.
“Elections are coming and people tend to feel
that because you come from a particular side of the country you shouldn't vie
for the position. We are very tribal people. Individuals look at tribe first
before the country. That is one of the lessons we want people to take home.
Always allow room for the other side because that other side has a belief that
is as valid as yours. The play forces us to look at situations objectively.
“I hate it when people say Nigeria got
independence. Independence from what? What were we before? We were a people
before Britain came; we had a government no matter how it was. The colonial
master had the mentality that they were superior. So, that’s what The Siege is about. No side can claim to
be superior to the other. It’s wrong.
“You know, Boko Haram says a certain way of
life is wrong. That is The Siege
because it is wrong for them to say that, or that they will destroy the way of
others just because you believe in your own way. It is wrong. The Siege teaches us to live and let
live. We can actually live side by side. It’s a large world and we live in a large
country that can accommodate all of us. This is the same situation in Cambodia
when a certain dictator came in and killed every journalist, every professor or
intellectual; in short, he killed everyone who could use pen and paper. He
murdered millions basically. It was wrong. If your ideology or belief says
don’t go to school, then don’t, but stop someone else from getting educated.
“Wole Soyinka is a foremost proponent of live
and let live. It’s not that we must stage one of his plays to celebrate him but
this is like showcasing his philosophy. As long as a belief does not lead to
killing people then let it be. That’s how best to celebrate Soyinka who
strongly believes in freedom. This is the Command Performance of The Siege. I would like the play to go
beyond Lagos but that’s for the executive producer. The play is unique and even
the lines in verse form are unique as well.
“It’s poetic, an epic play; it’s a play that
everybody should see and appreciate. Unfortunately, infrastructure for theatre is
not very strong in this country. If I have a venue paid for it will allow me to
show it for four or five months. The play speaks to society and the
situation on ground, how people should relate and treat each other with
respect. The Siege takes a serous
look at bigotry and exposes it for what it is. It has 16 cast members, and will
run for one and a half hours because there will be dances. So, there’s fusion
of play and dance.
“It’s challenging because it deals with
another culture, and we have to be careful that we stay true to the Sudanese culture
it’s set in terms of dresses, music and mindset that existed at the time, etc. we
have four British actors among the cast. We are taking the play to Edinburgh
this month but as a director, the situation of theatre in the country is
affecting us so much, especially the shortage of venues. The only venue we have
for plays apart from the National Theatre is MUSON Centre. There are other
places that they call theatre but they are not. They are just spaces or halls,
which aren’t good for play production.
“We have artistes all over Nigeria, at the
National Theatre but there’s nowhere to ply their trade. To tour a Nigerian
play abroad is cost-intensive; you have to apply for visas, as there are no
grants or endowments. Imagine that the only person that brought a Nobel Prize
to Nigeria is a poet and dramatist; that is Wole Soyinka but there’s no single
endowment fund for those areas by government or any philanthropist. We have
many theatre-loving people but the problem is that there’s nowhere for them to
go and see a play. Which theatre will they go? This play at MUSON Centre will
be filled to capacity. People need to relax after a hard day’s work”.
Colonialism is not something I’m proud of as
an English person, British actor, Quin
“I’m Sam Quinn,
an actor and I live in London. This is my third time in Nigeria. It’s good to
be back in Nigeria. Charles Gordon was a very successful military figure. Being
Gordon is an interesting role to play. Colonialism is not something I’m proud
of as an English person. It’s a dark chapter when you consider what happened to
local people. It’s a difficult role to play being the bad guy.
“Both key players were very religious and
strongly believed that God was on there side. It’s challenging role because I’m
not a Christian; I just believe that one should just do what is right. I love
Nigerian audience; they are fantastic. Their applause, their cheers and their
response are fantastic. They ginger you to give your best.
Ola Rotimi Fakunle (who bears the name of a late literary
icon as well as a character in the writer’s bestseller, The Gods Are Not to Blame).
“I’m playing
the Mahdi. It’s very challenging role because I’m trying to become a Sudanese.
I’m doing so much research on the characters. The script is very inspiring
because basically, what happened to the Sudanese is not different from our
own experience here. The play offers us an idea of how our people, our forefathers
who existed at that time were treated.
“It talks about a lot of things like the
Berlin Conference where Africa was shared among European countries. It gives us
a background of the Africa we used to have. It’s good to know our root so as to
solve our problem. The play is not just about Sudan or Nigeria but the entire
world. It’s good to listen to people who are agitating for something. The Mahdi,
for instance, was not fighting a religious war but he was a Muslim; he was fighting
to free his country from foreign rule. It’s good to look inwards. I believe so
much in the course of the Mahdi. I have to know all the nuances of the Mahdi’s
religion so I don’t desecrate it”.
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