As plans are already in top gear for a yet-another scintilating Command Performance of the epic stage play, OLU AKENGBUWA, the story of the 16th monarch of the about 600 years old ancient and prestine Warri Kingdom, the Producer and Director of the iconic play, Alex Eyengho (ANCOP, ANMD), has advanced reasons why he cast a former President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Ibinabo Fiberesima, for a major role in the play.
According to Eyengho who is also a former President of the Association of Nollywood Core Producers (ANCOP), Ibinabo is not just any other actress but a certified thespian who can deliver effectively both on stage and screen, anywhere in the world.
Said he, “as you may know, we started staging the play, OLU AKENGBUWA (among other plays) in May 2015, in Warri, of course with some of the very best thespians in the industry as cast. We have consistently taken the play on tour of Asaba, Warri and Lagos between 2015 and 2019, when we last performed at the MUSON Centre, Lagos, just before the COVID ’19 pandemic climaxed in 2020 to disrupt everything and everybody. We are just coming back with the play in 2024, after the COVID ’19 pandemic was defeated by the world.
“For me, there is no better time to introduce into the cast a certified, tested and trusted thespian like Ibinabo Fiberesima, a round actress on stage or screen, and every director’s delight. I have no shred of doubt the kind of energy she will bring into the cast, made up of other veteran thespians like Ejike Asiegbu, Nobert Young, Soibifaa Dokubo, Eliel Otote, Haji Omonoba Bello, Efe Mayford-Orhorha, Tom Godwin, Berney Obi-Abiezue, Bukky Thomas, Omololu Sodiya, Fred Ariko, Matel Alex-Eyengho, Anthony Edet Offiong “Thin Tall Tony” and Ebuka Madikaegbu “Ebubu” (both of the Big Brother fame), among others.
“Above all, Ibinabo fits squarely into the ROLI character who is the youngest and favourite wife of OLU AKENGBUWA (Ejike Asiegbu). From the director and casting point of view, Ibinabo comes with a stunning beauty of epical flavour, which is a major demand of the ROLI character. The Command Performance of this stage play will come up on Monday, December 30, 2024, at DY Events Place & Lounge, No. 1, C.A.C. street, off Edjeba road; the road in-between Delta Broadcasting Service (DBS) and Delta State Government House Annex, off Express road, Warri, Delta State. The time is 3:00 pm.
Set in the 17th century Warri Kingdom, the stage play is about the intriguing incidents that created a lacuna in the historical trajectory of the Warri monarchical system, when for 88 years the Kindom had no King. Historians link two of the following incidents as the immediate cause of the 88 years interregnum in Warri Kingdom: “A curse placed on the Kingdom by a certain Ifa Priest from Ife, Oyo Empire, and a pronouncement by Olu Akengbuwa himself against his over ambitious son, Prince Omateye.” Are these historical facts or mere coincidents? Were there other remote causes? Who were the dramatis personae in the events leading to the first and only major interregnum in the history of Warri Kingdom, which is about 600 years old today? The award-winning Producer/Director of the stage play, OLU AKENGBUWA, Alex Eyengho, reveals this in a most dramatic and intriguing form, using the rich history, culture, tradition, music, dance, ancient dialogue and proverbs of the Itsekiri of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, as tools of his expose. The published works of authors like William Moore, Prof. Obaro Ikime, J.O.S. Ayomike, John Sagay, Justice R. Ogbobine, Omoneukanrin, and Aboyowa Ikomi among others, inspired the scrpting and staging of this play.
