Lagos International Theatre Festival 2025
It’s not every day that you see a high-profile politician break into a rap freestyle, but then again, it’s not every day that Lagos International Theatre Festival (LIFT) takes over the city.
On Friday, 14th November, the second annual LIFT launched at Lagos’s Muson Centre with a spectacular opening night gala. There was song, dance, theatre, and an impromptu performance from His Excellency, Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Sanwo-Olu.
Image courtesy of Lagos International Theatre Festival
As the inimitably quick-witted co-host, Mojibade Sonsanya welcomed us, she reminded us why Lagos makes such a fitting destination for an international theatre festival; this is a city that doesn’t do things by half, its energy is always ten-out-of-ten.
Just as Mojibade promised, LIFT lived up to all the boldness, flair, and ambition that Lagos is known for.
With over 20 exceptional productions packed into a single weekend, LIFT is a testament to the richness and diversity of African storytelling. Through mesmerising ceremonial dance and oral tradition, Seki summoned the ancestral tales of the Core Niger Delta people. Meanwhile, in the Italian gardens, Ole showcased some of Nigeria’s finest operatic talent.
Image courtesy of Lagos International Theatre Festival
As a Nollywood fanatic, I packed in as many dramas as possible including My Boyfriend Calls Me Ma, Baby Showers, and Echoes of Yesterday. These outstanding productions are all side-splittingly funny: ripe with outrageous plot twists and distinctly Nigerian wit. But beneath the laughter, the themes are serious, grappling with the universal agonies of love, loss, and betrayal.
Beyond the talents of its directors, playwrights, and actors, one of the unique joys of Nigerian Theatre is its audience. Throughout the weekend, they too delivered that famous ten-out-of-ten energy.
Cheating boyfriends were raucously lambasted by the crowd. Characters deliberating which man to choose, turned to the audience for guidance. Bad choices inspired shouting and exasperation, while good ones prompted loud cheers of encouragement.
With its strong tradition of audience interaction, Nigerian theatre transforms you from a passive observer into an active participant in the performance.
As well as presenting a unique opportunity for international audiences to absorb Nigerian culture and stories, LIFT brought international theatre troops to Lagos. The South Africa State Theatre performed My Children, My Africa, and director Segun Ojewuyi and his cast travelled all the way from Illinois, USA, with Home. As Bolanle Austen-Peters, LIFT’s founder, says, LIFT is not just a celebration of the arts but a catalyst for cultural diplomacy.
Image courtesy of Lagos International Theatre Festival
Reviews
My Boyfriend Calls me Ma
Written by Bolanle Austen-Peters, the founder of LIFT, and Nigeria’s much acclaimed Queen of Theatre, My Boyfriend Calls Me Ma is a Nollywood-infused masterpiece. It follows fashion designer Itoro as she chooses between three men: a toy boy, an older man, and a disgraced ex-husband.
The wit is unparalleled. A love rival taunts Victoria in her fashion house, telling her that while ‘you’re here sewing, while your lover is out sewing his seed around Lagos.’ This is only one of many killer lines.
As Vitoria debates which of her suitors to choose, we are reminded that power dynamics are forever more complex than they appear, people’s inner lives more unknowable than we imagine, and choice not the luxury it appears.
Baby Showers
As four friends come together to celebrate a pregnancy, secrets are spilled and a celebration devolves into a reckoning.
Serious shade, and even some punches are thrown. The drama reaches a thrilling and hilarious apex with a fight so convincingly performed, I feared for a moment that the actresses had broken character and descended into a real, unstoppable fistfight.
Baby Showers is a tour de force of the many different kinds of heartbreak that plague us. Lovers are lost; friendships shatter; and sisters are pitted against one another.
Echoes of Yesterday
Brought to LIFT by Abuja-based C3 Media Productions, Echoes of Yesterday is a serious play with humorous overtones.
As Osas and Dolapo, an older couple living in seemingly domestic bliss, take us on a trip down memory lane, we learn that their marriage has been fraught with conflict. At the core of their struggles is an inability to communicate.
Each scene is cut with a truly spectacular dance performance. The dancers deftly flesh out the characters' emotions, giving us greater insight into the secrets and unspoken burdens they carry.
Words by Kitty Horlick
