In some of the recent plays in which gangling Kayode Idris acted, he either played the role of a false prophet (Wole Soyinka‘s The Trial of Brother Jero) or a militant (Arnold Udoka‘s Long Walk to a Dream). But when he mounts the stage on Friday at the Muson Centre, Lagos, he will be doing so as a Lagos rascal.
He will not only be the unwanted guest of a pastor with a questionable past, but will also be playing on the innocence of the daughter of the man of ‘God‘. In a swift intrigue, however, dramatic irony will assert itself. He will be mistaken for Tai Solarin, a dramatic cloning of the late social crusader, now appearing as a much dreaded, anti-corruption public complaint commissioner, who a gang of government (council) officials want to fete with whatever he may desire.
This is the nut that high-flying actors and actresses such as Ropo Ewenla (Council Chairman); Toyin Oshinaike (Councilor, Education) Bukola Ogunade (Adiyeloja); Lara Akinsola (Alafowosowopo); Yinka Ayelokun (Doctor); Dejo Adegboyega (Adajo); Bayo Ogundele (Baba Fawomi); and Akeem James (Pastor) are out to crack in the highly hilarious Yeepa, Solaarin n Bo, a Yoruba translation of Femi Osofisan‘s Who is Afraid of Solarin?
Directed by tested Niji Akanni, the play translated by Prof. Dotun Ogundeji, is an offering from the Lagos State chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Theartre Arts Practitioners, in collaboration with Mainframe Productions, Lagos. It is being sponsored by the state government.
Our correspondent watched the rehearsal of the play at the hostel of the National Troupe of Nigeria, in the National Theatre Complex, Surulere, Lagos on Saturday. Apart from the inspiring performances that the actors and actresses were putting up, what is likely to surprise the audience is how most of the members of the cast, who had usually featured in plays rendered in English, are still able to perform comfortably in the stage adaptation, which is being rendered in Yoruba.
”That tells you that if they ask you to go and look for a bastard, you won‘t get any among the cast here,” Ewenla, who has been part of several major plays staged in the country in recent years, says jovially. ”But on a more serious note, I believe that any artiste who cannot conveniently perform in his Mother Tongue is not worth being called one. And don‘t forget that this is a play for our Independence anniversary.”
In their fight to eliminate the real and imaginary Solarin at the beginning of the play, the fraudulent council officials employ various tactics, including the engagement of a herbalist (Fawomi), who should ensure that the crusader never visits their community to look at the books. But a semi-moron in the house, (Polycap, played by Femi Tade), who is asked to bring a drink for the herbalist, becomes their undoing. He served the spiritualist a poisonous liquid. Yet, the corrupt goons are still hopeful that Solarin will never be with them, until two clownish spies arrive with the message that their ‘enemy’ has arrived the pastor‘s house.
But the person they are now ready to pacify at all costs is Isola Oriebora (Idris,the rascal) who is, however, ready to capitalise on their ignorance.
Source: http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20100922353721
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