Lagos Theatre Festival 2018
will hold from 27 February till 4 March 2018 at Freedom Park and several other
venues in Lagos.
Lagos Theatre Festival has
released the schedule of performances and workshops that will feature at the
2018 edition of the festival which will be held from 27 February till 4 March
2018 at the Freedom Park and several other venues in Lagos.
Focus for this year is on
theatre in unconventional spaces, innovative interpretations of new ideas that
will inspire and challenge audiences, and promoting new works that will spark
conversations and debates.
The curated strand of the
festival will feature 6 productions with over 20 shows throughout the festival.
The other aspect of the festival, the fringe strand, has over 35 production programmed
to present over 80 shows to theatre audiences in Lagos.
The capacity development
thrust of the festival will deliver workshops and trainings in acting, script
development and some other theatre related subject matter throughout the
festival.
Talking about the
programming of this year’s edition, festival director, Kenneth Uphopho
explained that productions were carefully selected to offer an interesting
array of the arts. He said,
“This year’s festival has
been programmed to ensure there is something that appeals to every segment of
the society – drama, spoken word, music, workshops, variety shows, visual arts
and so many more.We offer a slice of every
bit that you wish to experience.”
Expressing her elation at
the growth of the festival over the years, British Council’s Head of Arts in
West Africa, Ojoma Ochai revealed that Lagos Theatre Festival has been listed
as ‘One of the top 20 theatre festivals around the world’ by America Express
Essentials.
She went further to say,
“It is quite commendable
that in the 5th year of the festival, we get accorded this recognition as one
of the top 20 theatre festivals across the world. Lagos Theatre Festival was
listed alongside other festivals such as Edinburgh Fringe, Galway International
Arts Festival and London International Festival of Theatre amongst some others.
This is good news for us”.
____________________________________
The 5th edition of the Lagos Theatre Festival, LTF 2018 will hold from 27 February till 4 March 2018 in Lagos across various venues with focus on presenting innovative interpretations of new ideas that will inspire and challenge audiences, and new works that will spark conversations and debates - The theatre in unconventional spaces.
The festival organisers have also announced a call for participation in the fringe strand of the festival, which provides the opportunity for theatre performers or production companies to present their works without restrictions as an avenue to promote arts.
Lagos Theatre Festival was conceived and launched in 2013 by British Council, the United Kingdom’s cultural organisation, inspired by the need to provide a platform for theatre makers in Nigeria to produce works for unconventional spaces and develop audiences for theatre productions.
“We want to encourage more experimental works in unconventional spaces and foster more inclusion with this edition of the festival which will feature performances, a carnival, workshops and variety evening shows in 6 days. Our series of build-up activities to engage audiences and stakeholders towards the delivery of the festival have already commenced, so the festival has already started.” said Kenneth Uphopho, director of Lagos Theatre Festival.
The 2017 edition featured over 80 events at 16 venues across Lagos and was well attended by over 5000 people, some of which include Connie Price, Country Director of British Council Nigeria, Bridget Oyefeso Odusami, Head Sponsorships and Events, First Bank Plc, Adebimpe Akinsola, Acting Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Obi Asika, Theo Lawson, Joke silva, Olu Jacobs and so many others.
Following the 2017 outing, most of the works presented at the festival received commendable reviews and referrals to participate in other projects and festivals across the world. One of such is ‘Strelitzia’, an experiential poetry and art installation project which was produced by Poedio Productions and premiered at the last edition of the festival. It is a manifestation of the possibilities of experimenting new ideas and building a piece of theatrical work to theme. ‘Wedding Blues’, produced by Beeta Universal Arts Foundation, was one of the most successful shows during the festival and they had to include an extra show to accommodate audiences.To read more about some of the shows, please click here.
British Council’s Head of Arts in West Africa, Ojoma Ochai said, “From inception, one major vision of the Lagos Theatre Festival has been to enable an experimental platform of expression for theatre producers and performers, and companies and individuals who participated in past editions of the festival have been giving success testimonials. We hope to make more of such stories in 2018.
ABOUT LAGOS THEATRE FESTIVAL
Lagos Theatre Festival (LTF) was created to promote theatre in unconventional spaces. Through the festival, theatre makers and producers are supported to expand their practice beyond traditional theatre spaces by creating work that responds to any given space.
The festival was founded by British Council in 2013 as part of its ambitions to foster exchanges, collaborations and strengthen relationships between Nigerian and British artists through the presentation of high quality Nigerian and British theatre.
LTF 2013 was held at Eko Hotel, and featured 4 shows over one weekend; LTF 2014 held at Freedom Park also featuring 4 shows over four days; Following a break in 2015, LTF 2016 featured 109 shows over 6 days in 19 venues working with 35 theatre companies and was supported by First Bank of Nigeria. The 2017 edition featured 86 events in 6 days at 16 venues with 40 production companies including 3 from South Africa, 1 from United States of America and 1 from the United Kingdom. It was supported by First Bank and Etisalat.
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