‘What would happen if Jesus came to South Africa?’

Last weekend the group was in Abuja again at the French Cultural Centre to perform MTwa, Ngema and Simon’s piece, Woza Albert as directed by University of Ibadan theatre arts lecturer, Dr. Tunde Awosanmi. The play provoked the question, ‘What would happen if Jesus came to South Africa?’ It was based on this that the […]

Last weekend the group was in Abuja again at the French Cultural Centre to perform MTwa, Ngema and Simon’s piece, Woza Albert as directed by University of Ibadan theatre arts lecturer, Dr. Tunde Awosanmi.

The play provoked the question, ‘What would happen if Jesus came to South Africa?’ It was based on this that the play set around a prison, market place, job market, brickyards, casinos and burial place was set and reeled out by two characters, Mbongeni (Toyin Oshinaike) and Percy (Simileoluwa Hassan) from Lagos and Asaba respectively.

Through acts, Mbongeni and Percy reported obnoxious apartheid policies to Jesus.

According to Awosanmi, “The choice of Woza Albert was not a coincidence as South Africa has become a reference case for inter-racial, inter-ethnic, and inter-religious relationships. It establishes a bold correspondence between the human and inhuman and as a universal statement speaks to Nigeria. It expresses man’s failures to respect the inhumanity of other men and should be viewed as a classical forum for peace research.”

For audience like Lucy Abdul, “This is a piece that every Nigerian should see and question our attitude towards one another to help us tackle issues of tribalisation and religion as forms of identification.”