Great Mother – Iya Ayaba: a new play by University of Cambridge student Mojola Akinyemi
Set in 1960s Nigeria, towards the end of the Biafran War, original play Great Mother – Iya Ayaba explores the impact of mental, physical and spiritual turmoil on the lives of those unable to escape from conflict.
Starting tomorrow (November 2) at The Corpus Playroom and running until Saturday (November 6), the piece was written and directed by University of Cambridge student, Mojola Akinyemi, and is performed in a naturalistic style while also embracing the more abstract forms of theatre.
It stars Thea Melton as Agnes, Ditie Eradiri as Taiwo, Subomi AdeAlamu as Mother Superior Delores, Owen Igiehon as Taiwo’s brother, Kehinde, and Mei Alozie as nurse Isioma.
Mojola says: "I wanted to create a piece of theatre that compels you into the action, but doesn't do so by using gratuitous violence. It's about being forced to reconcile with reality, particularly one that is so strained due to the stresses of civil war, and with the need to define what is good and evil.
"In staging it, I wanted to work with multiple elements, of movement, dance, sound, and costume, to embrace the culture and period as well as the nature of drama as an art form."
For more information, visit adctheatre.com.
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