By Japhet Alakam, DRAMA

The second edition of the Children Creative Station which was put in place by the National Troupe of Nigeria in 2010 to serve as a summer break orientation exercise for young ones from holiday-making homes in Lagos which kicked off on September 1 at the National theatre, Iganmu, Lagos ended last week with a command performance of a play Whispering in the Dark written by Noel Greig and directed by Josephine Igbarese .

As it was in the first edition, this year’s edition offered a variety of shows where the children were taught the rudiments of theatre by specialists.

Apart from script-writing which was the most dominant area of interest last year, they were equally taught how to play roles, sing, dance, mime, act and lots more.

And for the one month the workshop lasted, the children through their actions as demonstrated during the command performance of the play which took place at the Cinema Hall 1 of the National Theatre that the efforts of the organisers were not in vain.

Creative display

The children numbering over 100 from different schools, backgrounds and locations actually blended very well as they played their parts during the show.

They were truly wonderful as they filed out on stage and showcased their talents which ordinarily no one would have noticed at such a tender stage.

National Troupe Children Creative Station entertaining the audience

The day kicked off with a soloist rendition of the two stanzas of the National anthem by little Vera Dapo. The young Vera who announced her presence last year again proved to the audience that what they saw last year was not an accident.

The way she composed herself maturely and sang brilliantly, demonstrated that NTN has really discovered a talent in her.

This was followed by series of presentations by other children who came on stage and displayed the virgin talents, but it was 6 year old Uchechi who stole the show with her wonderful performance.

The little girl who could not even speak good English language performed more than the professionals.

Exhibiting her innocence, little Uchechi danced and sang to the admiration of the audience, an action that moved the Artistic Director Martin Adaji to embrace and give her another chance to sing and dance. At the end, an elated Adaji declared “This is our new sensation, our new discovery, the Troupe knows how to discover, we will nurture this dream. ”

After that the children performed the children version of the play, Whispering in the Dark which according to the artistic director of NTN,Martin Adaji the adult version was performed in Cairo, Egypt last year.

It featured a crop of talented youngsters whose excellent performances drew ovation from the audience. The play dwells on the essence of one important aspect of the culture, story telling which is fast fading away .

The children using different modes, told the story of how some giants outlawed songs and stories in a certain community by kidnaping and killing and that made the people to be afraid of singing or telling stories.

But there are certain families like the Alf’s, the Patch and the Saucepans who are the custodians of these cultures, so they resolved never to stop their songs and stories, and this made them to travel from one village to the other where stories and songs have not been banned.

Meanwhile, a long time ago, the Alfs had lost their sister when the giants invaded their village, everywhere they went, they searched for her, but to no avail, until they got to the 1ast village and found their sister dressed like a giant.

Adorned with colourful costumes to match and with children drummers drumming to suit the taste, the stage was electrified as they moved from one stage to the other.

The new discovery, 6 year old Uchechi entertaining the audience

The way the children played their roles through out the 90 minutes the play lasted proved that giving the right training they will be good actors and actresses in future. It also demonstrated that they actually worked very hard to master their roles in just one month, it was really great.

The set design which was perfectly created by Biodun Abe to tell the story was good as it brought out the beauty of the play. Made up of water fountains on black rocks with black background that depict village circle and a pitiable setting that provided a good atmosphere where the stories were told.

And at the end of the thrilling encounter, the audience were happy and the organisers were happy too as the aims of organising the workshop which were to keep the children busy during the holiday period, introducing them to theatrical practice at an early age and discovering new talents were fully realised.

Artistic Director of NTN, Mr. Martin Adaji, said that the workshop is to help make the children feel a sense of belonging. “In them are hidden talents which we hope to discover and develop. As you can see, we have new sensation here this year.” He added.

NTN’s Director in charge of drama and director of the play,s Josephine Igberease, observed that the one month spent with the children will be one of the most memorable times in their lives.

According to her, “the workshop is made up of children from all backgrounds and walks of life. It is hoped that a bond of friendship and team work achieved will be lasting and have positive impact on each child.”