‘Publishing my play, a move to revive theatre’

Bookshelf: You recently published a play titled ‘The Journey to One’. What triggered it? Oliver Iorkase: Like most of my plays, ‘The Journey to One’ was inspired by my environment. It’s a story of power and co-existence. I looked at Nigeria where we have about 259 languages and 200 million people. We also have different […]

Bookshelf: You recently published a play titled ‘The Journey to One’. What triggered it?

Oliver Iorkase: Like most of my plays, ‘The Journey to One’ was inspired by my environment. It’s a story of power and co-existence. I looked at Nigeria where we have about 259 languages and 200 million people. We also have different cultures, religions, beliefs and traditions and somehow it is demanded of us to live as one. I don’t think anyone actually estimated the kind of conflict that will arise in trying to live as one. While the potential is there for greatness, there’s also all the ingredients for a fall-out. If we can’t blend our differences, it will shatter us. So, ‘The Journey to One’ is a story that x-rays Nigeria and a lot of African countries. Looking at the history of Nigeria and the kind of things we have experienced, such as the civil war, political violence, and religious crises. In the heart of this, you will always find those divides at the centre. In politics, you find out that religion is playing a role, ethnicity too, and so on. That’s where the title of the play comes from, the journey to become one.

Bookshelf: Will it be correct to say your work is an attempt to unite Nigeria?

Iorkase: Yes, it’s an attempt to unite Nigeria, while making very clear the challenges we face and the pathways we will have to negotiate. There’s a quote in the book that says no future is built without sacrifice, sometimes the ultimate sacrifice. Another says, the journey to one is a long concoction and you need to mix and blend the ingredients. You have to be patient and at the bottom of patience you find heaven. It’s my conviction that the greatness that is before us is inherent if we can know what to do with our differences. That means things like selfishness, greed, individualism, ethnicity, and religious bigotry. 

Bookshelf: How does your work provide answers to how unity can be achieved?

Iorkase: In the story are three nations with so much differences that they are always at war. Faced with different challenges, they didn’t know how to survive. There’s the story of a peasant who fell in love with a princess, the wrong woman. But he was determined to be with her. So, as he journeyed to become one with her, it took him away from his nation to an enemy nation. He soon realised that the only way to survive was if there was the possibility of those nations becoming one. That’s what the story is all about. The mission of one man became the vision of a whole nation.

Bookshelf: How has this play fared on stage so far?

Iorkase: It’s actually a robust play, so portions of it have been presented on stage. They are portions the director feels represent the work to a greater extent. The main play will be coming up in 2017 in Abuja. We are trying to revive theatre because it’s a big industry that can create a lot of employment. It can change mind-sets. I have done it before, so it isn’t the first time. 

Bookshelf: How did your journey as a playwright begin?

Iorkase: My journey started in primary school where I was exposed to reading quite early because my father liked to buy books. In those days we had books written by Shakespeare in smaller volumes. By the time I was in Junior Secondary Three I had probably read almost all the volumes. It was clear that I was interested in literature and filmmaking. So I started writing in about 2010 when we wrote ‘Irajami’, a play and had almost 1, 500 people in the audience when it was staged in Abuja. I conceptualised the Summit theatre which later became the biggest theatre in Abuja. We learnt to build a theatre the hard way; getting actors and directors, performing small skits and so on. The platform was given by the Summit Bible Church, which made it easy because we didn’t have to rent and we also got volunteers. We grew to a point where legends like Joke Silver and Abuchi were acting in our plays. We had over ten billboards in town. 

I studied Film and Television, mostly private trainings, here and outside Nigeria. When I happen to be where there’s live drama, I realise my creativity is challenged. For film, a scene can be taken several times to attain perfection, but theatre isn’t that way. You live it on stage. That’s why it’s called the magic of theatre. When you write they are mere words. So there’s nothing as beautiful as standing in the auditorium and seeing your work come to life on stage. It’s magical. For any mature person who experiences theatre, they will tell you it’s a different feeling. 

Bookshelf: What is it about your art you try to uphold when working?

Iorkase: Because I have a background in film, television and play writing, I don’t like to see distinctions between them. I just want to be a writer who writes what can be adapted, either on screen or the theatre. Today’s audience has changed and if you say you want to write strictly for theatre audience, most people in Nigeria have not been there before and can only relate with what they have seen on TV. However, when you are writing a play, you have to understand the audience and bring a little of cream into it. Put in mind that the work is adaptable. That’s what I have done with ‘The Journey to One’. You can’t just say there’s one way to do things.

Bookshelf: What are you working on at the moment?

Iorkase: Abuja is an interesting city and we believe its home to a lot of expatriates. Theatre is not very active here. My goal has always been to see how theatre can be revived and make Abuja a more cultural city. There are plans to create a whole vibrant industry.