‘Hear Word!’ shows in Abuja

It was a match of words, acting, dance, drums and costumes last Sunday, when the cast of the widely acclaimed theatre production, ‘Hear Word!’ thrilled Abuja audience with a performance at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel. The line – ‘Over 200 mothers can’t sleep, day and night’ – in reflection of the current state of mothers […]

It was a match of words, acting, dance, drums and costumes last Sunday, when the cast of the widely acclaimed theatre production, ‘Hear Word!’ thrilled Abuja audience with a performance at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel.
The line – ‘Over 200 mothers can’t sleep, day and night’ – in reflection of the current state of mothers of kidnapped Chibok girls, ushered in the cast of the play the architect, Ifeoma Fafunwa.
Each scene chronicled live experiences of women and instantly resonated with the audience who responded in affirmation as the cast acted, recounting various scenarios from sexual harassment in workplaces, male intimidation and unreasonable excuses women make to justify some of them, as well as fears that force them not to speak up.
‘Hear Word!’ narrated the dilemma of women with only female children and how society consciously or unconsciously play this up as a minus with inferences such as ‘three people died in that accident and one woman,’ or how the identity of a mother is by her son – Mama Umoru.
The play also showed how, regardless of societal standing, all mothers basically had the same desires for their daughters including proper education and unwanted pregnancies, as well as the same worries about them like late marriage.
The production also did justice to the saying that ‘women are their own worst enemies’ as it narrated mother-in-law versus daughter-in-law matter.
‘Hear word!’ also ridiculed mothers who are instrumental in making their daughters subdued and subservient, as much as it condemned their relating with their daughters in a way that terrifies them rather than befriends them as in teh case of flogging a 13 year-old who just began menstruation as a way of teaching her sexual and reproductive health.
In the same manner it frowned at cultures which permitted women to ‘sleep’ with male visitors as a sign of hospitality. 
For many of the members of the audience it was the first witness of actresses like Joke Silva, Ufuoma McDermott, Taiwo Ajai-Lycett and Bimbo Akintola away from screen as the artites displayed the diversity of their talent.
In her remarks, wife of Nigeria’s Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo congratulated the cast and crew.  She said the play showcased the beauty of the African woman, the richness of her clothing and character.
Mrs. Osinbajo who said the cases of abuse of Nigerian women are alarming also requested that the audience made up their minds to speak up and tell how precious women and girls are.
Speaking on hosting the event in Abuja, Hilton’s Public Relations Manager, Shola Adeyemo said it’s not the first time the hotel is hosting such.
He said: “We have always supported any initiative aimed at generating awareness and reinforcing our diversity and the need for inclusion. The issues of gender equality and cultural stereotypes that tend to limit women are real; as an organisation that promotes inclusiveness at workplace, we saw in theme of ‘Hear Word!’ an opportunity to reinforce our support for gender equality, diversity and inclusiveness at workplace.”
With several demands for the play to return to Abuja, Adeyemo said: ‘Hear Word!’ is a timeless message; so if the opportunity meets the need, we will be pleased to host them again.”