By Japhet Alakam

As the world celebrates International Women’s Month and reflects on its theme of #Balanceforbetter,  one of the high points of it is projection of women and what they can do in times of neglect. And one of such moves is the presentation of The Wives’ Revolt, a stage play by the literary icon, Prof. John Pepper Clark.

* Scene from a previous performance of J P Clark’s The Wives Revolt

The play which is about the marginalisation of women and the injustices they face in life, and what happens when women in one community decide to stand up against their oppressors and oppression with the support of a few good men will hit the theatre stands from 29th of March with a command performance and later on 31st at  Agip Recital Hall of MUSON Centre, Lagos.

Packaged by a foremost development communication non-governmental organisation, which has over 20 years experience of changing norms and behaviours through drama and entertainment and produced by Oxygen Concepts.

In  the play, the women’s complaints are silenced in a ridiculous way involving accusations of witchcraft. When these accusations lead to further hardships on them, including loss of their livelihoods, the women in “one might and mind” say enough is enough and take action in a most unorthodox way.

According to the producer and Executive Director of ARDA, Data Phido, “The play seeks to highlight the ignorance and unconsciousness behaviour of men on certain issues that remain important to women, and calls attention to them with empathy in an emphatic way.”

Even though nearly four decades have passed since  The Wives’ Revolt  was first staged, the themes of gender inequality and misogyny remain relevant today. Some things have changed for the better, but there is still a lot of work to be done, and we hope this production by ARDA inspires a positive revolution towards more gender equality in our day-to-day lives.

The play features a stellar cast comprising some of Nigeria’s finest theatre exports, Toyin Oshinaike (who plays Okoro), Zara Udofia Ejoh (as Koko), Albert Akaeze (as Idama), and  Oladotun Olagbadebo is the Stage Manager while  Toritseju Ejoh is director.  It opens on March 29, 2019 at Agip Recital Hall of MUSON Centre, Lagos with a command performance and two public showings at 3pm and 7pm on March 31, 2019.