Uche Nwokedi is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who has found
abiding and irresistible love in the theatre and has produced the excellent
musical theatre Kakadu. However, on Friday,
October 16 his group, The Playhouse Initiative, will stage the musical theatre Jesus Christ Superstar, as part of MUSON
Music Festival 2015 that will run from October 14 through 25. In this interview
with Anote Ajeluorou, Nwokedi engages a range of salient issues in Nigeria’s
theatre and cultural milieu
Jesus Christ
Super Star is your next project on stage at MUSON Music Festival
Jesus Christ Superstar is one of the most
enduring and iconic musicals of all time. It was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber
and Tim Rice and has won many awards since it first opened in Broadway and the
West End, London in 1972.
Kindly give insight
to the performance?
It
is loosely based on the Gospels and tells the story of the last two weeks of
the life of Christ from the preparation to entering into Jerusalem until the
crucifixion. In actual fact, the sub-themes of the story focus more on various
aspects of human emotions and character flaws. So, it addresses the everyday
sentiments of doubt, envy, admiration, materialism, loyalty, betrayal, ignorance
and greed, in the characters. Judas, Peter, the Apostles, Mary Magdalene, the
Pharisees and Pilate are seen for who they really are - ordinary people who did
not at the time understand the message. Judas in particular embodies all these
and more. His worldliness, greed and ignorance lead him down a path of
self-destruction or destiny, which ends with the betrayal of Jesus Christ and
his own suicide. Pilate, Herod, Caiaphas, Annas, and to a certain extent Simon
Zealotes, all saw Jesus as a leader of the times then, and reacted to him
accordingly. Clearly, those around Jesus at the time did not comprehend his
divinity. The truth be told, after two thousand years of religious instruction
and discourse, we too, do not always appreciate the essence of Jesus Christ.
The
Playhouse Initiative reprises this musical for the 2015 MUSON Festival and it’s
part of a series of creative workshops for youth development, and the promotion
of musical theatre in Nigeria. We have a young and relatively unknown but
extremely talented group of young people who have trained under the Director
Kanayo Omo and the Musical Director Benneth Ogbeiwi for this production.
What should it
mean to theatre-lovers?
It is a different genre of musical theatre, and
quite unique. There are not too many rock operas out there and Lloyd Webber’s
brilliance is such that the scoring of the musical is unique. The structure of
the music (five syncopated beats in a bar) is unusual, and the songs linger in
your mind long after you have heard them. Then Tim Rice’s style of writing the
libretto is quite witty and a bit “tongue in the cheek”. The music, the drama
and the stagecraft, all make for a very interesting musical. It is amazing
theatre and every theatre lover will enjoy it.
Your next project
Kakadu is scheduled for December.
What is the significance of this musical theatre project in the light of Nigeria’s
historical evolution 55 years on?
Yes
indeed, Kakadu is coming back in
December by popular demand. It is a story that addresses the core of our
existence as a nation, as well other aspects, such as our music, our love for
life, tribalism, inter-ethnic marriages, the influence of western civilization
on our national psyche, governance and responsibility. Kakadu itself is a metaphor for Nigeria that asks the question ‘how
do we build a nation?’ As long as we have problems with governance in Nigeria,
this question will continue to resonate, and each successive administration has
to address it in its own way.
Considering
the historical import of Kakadu it
ought to be taken round the country on tour, but it hasn’t. Any plans for it and
what are the impediments?
It
would be nice for Kakadu to tour
Nigeria and beyond, since in a sense, it speaks to the African experience with the
British style of colonization. But then there are the perennial problems of adequate
funding, infrastructure, and, of course, security. We do not have enough
theatres, even in Lagos. You would have to tour with a technical crew and
almost all of your equipment.
How has theatre
fared in Nigerian society today? Is it as effective as it should be?
Not very well, I would say. Well think of the
fact that Nigeria is a multi-cultural society, with a rich and diverse history
and interesting political evolution. Think of our ethnic culture and tradition,
all of which are rich regardless of your geo-political zone or tribe. These are
all excellent source materials for a vibrant theatre culture. But we don't have
one. Why? Maybe for the same reason why our education is not what it used to
be, or why our hospitals are not what they should be? I don’t know; it is
difficult to say.
How did you come
into theatre practice as a legal practitioner, even with a SAN status?
People always ask that question. All this is
recreation for me. I enjoy it. A lot of lawyers are closet writers. In other
countries, such as the U.K., there is a close relationship between the Bar and
the Stage, and the stage is supported by many professionals and business
people. The Bar even has drama societies within it.
Do you see the
stage as an extension of the court?
In
a sense, perhaps, but not as an extension. There are similarities. The court,
like life, is a stage and all the lawyers are role players. The main difference
is that in court you deal with real life issues and problems that affect the
lives, businesses and liberties of real people. On the stage, it is make-believe
and at the end of the show you are applauded and everyone goes home happy. The
messages are usually nuanced or subliminal. In court your message has to be
clear and compelling to the judge. I can assure you that if you lose a case,
your clients will not be happy with you and they will certainly not clap for
you.
I
came to theatre more by accident than by design, I can assure you. I never
really planned to do theatre. It started as part of my youth programme in the
Catholic Church, as a way of giving back to the younger generation in terms of
my time and experience, and it just grew from there.
Some
have proposed that a theatre be built in every local government area in the
country. Do you agree?
Maybe
not every local government. There must be a programme and a policy towards the
development of theatre. A production has many facets that create a series of
short-term employments. There are the actors and singers that you see on stage.
There are the directors, stage managers and choreographers. There are the set
designers and carpenters that work with them; there are the light designers and
electricians and riggers that work with them. There are sound engineers. There
is equipment hire. There is costume design and tailors. All these different
aspects provide employment for people. If we develop theatre fully and
productions are regular, that industry will grow and employment within it will
become more regular. Case in point is Nollywood.
It’s a clear example of private endeavour at its best. Theatre, on the other
hand, requires more nurturing and social support. If you build theatres indiscriminately
without having a framework in place for funding theatre, it may not have the
desired effect.
Between government and corporations’ apathy to support
culture, which has done more harm to culture production in the country?
I
would not blame anyone. It is just where we are right now in the country.
However, these things have to be private sector driven. Government policy is
good to give direction and limited regulation but ultimately it is the private
sector that has to be the catalyst for growth in this area.
How can the National
Theatre be made to regain its glory days as home for the arts?
National Theatre needs a complete revamp,
to start with. It is a crying shame to have such a magnificent structure in the
country in such a poor state. The concept of a National Theatre has to be
appreciated, not just as a job but as a centre of creativity and excellence in
the arts.
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