Students of the Department of Theatre Arts and Music at the Lagos State University (LASU) on Friday staged Ola Awakan’s “Echoes of the Drums”, to reiterate the significance of live theatres.
The performance was a practical examination for the department’s 200-level students and was part of the requirements for the Theatre Workshop Course.
Awakan, who witnessed the performance, applauded the students for their brilliance, saying it exceeded the audience’s expectations, considering their status as students.
According to him, LASU is the first tertiary institution to perform the play, after the premiere by the National Troupe of Nigeria in 2022, in Lagos, for Nigeria’s 62nd Independence and in April 2024 by the Guild of Theatre Arts Drummers in Abuja.
The Head of the Department, Dr Babafemi Babatope, said, “It was a nicely written script. The performance itself was good. It was done by 200-level students who had just been introduced to theatre.
“Given the level of their studentship, I think they did very well and the hallmark of any good performance is entertainment.
“You saw how the audience was agog with laughter and applause. And the African audience is a polaroid audience. It is wait-and-get feedback, If the play is good, you get your right on the spot with their clap offering.
“So, based on the fact that theatre should entertain, it was entertaining. The audience was thrilled. Based on the fact that theatre should communicate, it absolutely communicated meaningful things.
“Based on the fact that theatre should educate, these people are educated about their cultural heritage. So, for me, it is a well-done play and well-received by the audience.”
Babatope, who spoke about the impact of the play on the students, said: “The production is an epic play that dates back to Yoruba history.
“And you saw the use of the drum, you saw the costumes, you saw the various mannerisms of cultural display that can be identified with the Yoruba people.
“So, this audience which is largely young people has been taken into some kind of theatrical voyage into their culture, and by so doing, culture is being preserved.”
Also, Theatre scholar, Prof. Sola Fosudo, noted that theatre had great significance for nation-building.
He said, “Theatre gives direction to the society. Some of the plays we do in the theatre are meant to teach some life lessons about how society should live but I am not sure that the kind of society we have accords that kind of regard to what we do.
“Of course, some of the plays we do are for cultural preservation and also national development to talk about how we should preserve our culture and live together as a community of people.”
“Echoes of the drums” is a drum-drama written in 2005 and published into play-text in 2024. It uses drum instrumentation to advocate unity, peace and cultural preservation.
The play revolves around the clan of drummers and how the adventure of a triplet, Ayanlade, Onlude and Awogbola’s exploit brought out the potency of drums.