IN 1969 Nigeria, Titubi models herself on the mythic figure of Moremi, a young heroine who sacrificed herself to rebel forces to save her people.
Titubi works with a colonial police force to perform the same sacrifice, allowing herself to be captured by a peasant farmer army, only to find that they are not the violent revolutionaries that they have been made out to be.
IN 1969 Nigeria, Titubi models herself on the mythic figure of Moremi, a young heroine who sacrificed herself to rebel forces to save her people.
Titubi works with a colonial police force to perform the same sacrifice, allowing herself to be captured by a peasant farmer army, only to find that they are not the violent revolutionaries that they have been made out to be.
The peasant army re-names her ‘Morountodun’, or ‘I have found a sweet thing’. South African director Andrew Buckland transforms this moving play, written by Nigerian playwright Femi Osofisan in 1983, into a vibrant production of African dance, music, colour and tradition.
The scenes unfold on a wooden structure on the stage and there is not much else to look at besides the actors themselves who manage to carry the audience into a rebel war of 1969 Nigeria.
The parallels between Titubi and Moremi beautifully illustrate the tradition of the Yoruba culture of Nigeria that has spanned across generations. Titubi’s self-sacrifice, through flashbacks in the play, is mirrored in the profound bravery of her idol, Moremi.
Although the play follows a serious plot, it does so in a humorous way. Characters such as Inspector Superintendent Salami, the staunch colonial authority figure;
the women of the rebel group who are not actually rebels, but giggly young girls who like to gossip and tease each other; and Titubi herself, who starts off as a loud, spoilt young girl in extravagant clothing, who transforms into a humble young woman with a more mature look on life.
Buckland skillfully manages to combine Nigerian culture and tradition with a South African twist. The actors speak in South African accents and sing in Xhosa, and Inspector Superintendent Salami, although originally a Nigerian colonial authority figure, bears a resemblance to the stereotypical apartheid police of our own country.
The play ultimately explores what it means to be African. Morountodun will be performed at 7.30pm tomorrow at the Rhodes Theatre. Tickets cost R20 and R15 for scholars, students and pensioners and can be pre-booked at the Theatre Café or bought at the door.
