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Theater Der Welt deepens creative practice in Lagos

By Daniel Anazia
01 August 2021   |   3:54 am
The Lagos Leg of Düsseldorfer Festival Theatre (Der Welt - Düsseldorf), which started on June 30, came to a successful end on July 4, 2021.

A scene from Sisi Pelebe

The Lagos Leg of Düsseldorfer Festival Theatre (Der Welt – Düsseldorf), which started on June 30, came to a successful end on July 4, 2021. Also known as World Theatre Congress, the festival was largely virtual and some elements of physical presence. Earlier scheduled to hold in 2020, it was moved to 2021, as a result COVID-19 pandemic, even though it is still much around and more prevalent in some countries of the world. The festival was an opportunity for young ones to practice their art.

The Seaside Cottage Theatre, Akoka, Bariga played host to the Lagos event, with Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture collaborating with the facility.

According to the organisers, the theatre festival was aimed at developing the Nigerian creative space. The festival also helped to deepen theatre practice in the country, as well as raise the bar of Nigerian arts. It was also an opportunity for young theatre art practitioners around the world to interact and chart new course for their future.

The organisers said by involving young Nigerians as participants at the workshop and the performances of two Nigerian plays – Sisi Pelebe by Kelvin Mary and Skin by Kininso Concept and some other top performances at the festival, young Nigerian theatre practitioners will have opportunity to prove their worth.

At the festival, Seun Awobajo, the Creative Director of Footprints Of David Arts Foundation, a globally celebrated children theatre troupe, was in the ‘Equity’ forum to curate the Nigerian session of the world congress.

Ten young theatre stakeholders from 10 different countries were engaged in the general conversation, Our house is on Fire, and every participating country made presentation on the sub-theme that directly affected their respective nations.

Interestingly, this year’s edition of the festival introduced a digital platform called “gathertown”, which will run for the next four years. This is to engage carefully selected young theatre practitioners access the world as well as network and develop solutions to the global issues such as, climate change, insecurity and the SDG goals in general via art and creativity in the eye of the young using their modern technology and re-positioning the Theatre in the post- COVID strata.

In addition, the world congress built a new community for digital art in – art conversations and interventions.

Recall that in 2020, the world was brought to a halt as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic on lives and economic livewire of countries. Several countries grappled with survival as they battled to save the breath of their citizenry.

The next edition of the Theater der Welt festival will hold in Frankfurt and Offenbach am Main in 2023.

Some of the facilitators are Schauspiel Judith Niggehoff, Saliha Shagasi, David Brückel Specilization, Siphokazi Mpofu, Sipho Ngxola, Luyanda Nogodwala, Segun Adefila and Ayodele Arigbabu.

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