Pawstudios Africa stages ‘Beere’ March 25 at MUSON Centre, immortalises Funmilayo Kuti

* Collaborates Good Cop Bad Cop for ‘Glimpses from the Edges’

By Editor

TO commemorate the international women’s month, Pawstudios Africa, operators of Lagos and Abuja Fringe Festivals, will stage Beere, the stage adaptation of the iconic moment in the life of legendary Fela Anikulapo’s mother, Olufunmilayo Kuti. The performance is in partnership with Global Rights International.
Beere, written by Abiodun Baiyewu and directed by the critically acclaimed director, Kenneth Uphopho, chronicles the moments that led to the Egba Women’s Revolt in defiance of the tax policies driven by the then Alake of Egbaland who would be deposed by the women. The women believed that their economic roles were declining, while their taxes were increasing under the heavy-handed Alake and his government that was backed by the colonial administration. Additionally, the women argued that until they were granted representation, they should not be required to pay taxes. As a result of their protests, the Alake abdicated his throne, with four women being allotted seats in the local council and taxes being abolished.
Produced by Tope Sanni for Pawstudios Africa, Beere will be performed at Agip Recital Hall, MUSON Centre at 5pm on Friday, March 25, 2022. There will be preliminary red carpet pleasantries starting at 4pm. Attendance is free but registration is required. Follow @pawstudiosafrica for details.
Also, Pawstudios Africa is collaborating with Good Cop Bad Cop for a project called ‘Glimpses from the Edges’ through combining their experimental approaches to theatre. The two independent organizations became aware of each other’s work through British Council brokered introduction at ‘City of the Unexpected’ event in Cardiff, United Kingdom in 2016.
According to the Artistic Director at Pawstudios Africa, Uphopho, “We are both interested in the repurposing of public and private spaces for alternative artistic presentations. So through both research and public call out, we will commission five young people in Nigeria and five young people in Wales to produce short videos that represent their lives in the way that they choose. The individuals will be engaged, in some way, with ‘Intangible Heritage’, preferably in contemporary interpretation of that heritage. This project aims to broaden young Nigerian and Welsh peoples’ understanding of each other’s cultures, traditions, languages, both historically and in contemporary society. The individuals will preferably be able to use a native language in their films in addition to English.”
Richard Huw Morgan of Good Cop Bad Cop Wales said of the project, “The individuals will come from the sub-rural/edge-lands, between urban and rural. The project will culminate in a digital/physical hybrid presentation combining pre-recorded and live projection to each other’s audiences.
“We will do this by focusing on young people’s engagement with ‘intangible heritage’ and contemporary manifestation and interpretation of that heritage, including music, song, pattern, dance, clothing, food, etc. It is hoped that by widening each other’s young people to broader, and to more personal, lived experiences and perspectives, as opposed to institutional voices, that they will be able to identify new opportunities for social and economic partnerships. By focusing on individual stories, we intend to value the individual difference of experience that exists both within and across cultures.”
This project is being supported by the British Council’s Cultural Exchange Programme. For more information, visit www.PawstudiosAfrica.org.