Akinwumi Sesan’s ‘A Long Wait on the Moon’ is MUSON Festival drama 2024
By Editor
A pulsating satire to watch on stage, laced with music, dance and instrumentation, A Long Wait on the Moon is the 2024 Chevron Drama at MUSON Festival. It is scheduled for Saturday, October 19, 2024 at the Agip Recital Hall, MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos, by 12:00pm (Matinee) and 5:00pm (Eventide). It is to be performed by The Royal Crown Theatre under the leadership of Prof. Muyiwa Awodiya.
Written by Akinwumi Sesan (PhD), A Long Wait on the Moon focuses on the daily challenges faced by regular people in the country where it is hoped that government’s plans will improve the lives of every citizen. It suggests that until the needs of ordinary citizens are recognized, a pervasive feeling of being trapped in a “mental home” will subsist, a symbolizes for difficult living conditions.
According to the playwright, A Long Wait on the Moon is going to be enacted at a time “when our country is facing an economic crisis, many ordinary people are suffering. They are not sick from common illnesses like malaria or typhoid but rather they are struggling mentally because of the hardships caused by the country’s situation.”
“The characters in the play may seem crazy,” said the artistic director Emmanuel Esiakpere, “but they are actually in a psychiatric hospital because of the stress caused by the tough economic situation. The play ends with the idea that while the government is responsible for the economy, we as citizens also have important roles to play. As the Yoruba saying goes, àgbájọwo la n fi sọ yà, which is interpreted as ‘we need to work together if we want to benefit from good governance’.”
The executive director of the play Prof. Awodiya noted that “Akinwumi Sesan’s A Long Wait on the Moon is a reflection on our remote and immediate society” stating further that the play “interrogates our realities and how we have been individually and collectively managing the situations. Although our present realities have been stressful for all and sundry, the playwright presents the plot of the play comically so that we laugh away our stress. Watching this play will offer a momentary poetic escape from the hard realities of our contemporary society. The language, the plot and the characterization of the play are powerfully weaved together to make us laugh and relax our nerves in the current economic and social stress. The characters in the play are seasoned and experienced actors and among them are Dr. Leke Ogunfeyimi, Dr. Sanjo Isaac Ilori and Owoyemi Alaameen Ademola. The play is also laced with music, dance and instrumentation under the control of Dr. Felix Keji Faniran. The play is very tempting to watch on stage.”
The annual MUSON Festival of the Arts kicked off in grand style on Sunday, October 13 with an Art Exhibition and Brunch, and in the evening of the same day an exciting opera – Dido & Aeneas, as performed by the MUSON Diploma School Opera & Orchestra, conducted by John Lucien Eclou.
Themed ‘Revival’ and in its 28th edition, the festival continued on Tuesday, October 15 and dedicated to MUSON Day, a free event that featured a medley of electrifying performances. Other event days include— October 18 (MusicQuest Grand Finale, by 11am), The Chevron Festival Drama (A Long Wait on the Moon) billed for Saturday 19 by 12pm and 5pm, My Kind of Music is scheduled for the 20 @6:00pm, while October 22 is for ‘Collabo: Music Meets Technology’ by 11:00am. October 25th is for the much anticipated Jazz Party, @6:00pm while The Creation draws the curtain for the year.
