Author: Olúwátìmílẹ́hìn Coker

The Performance Before the Performance On one of those Saturdays at Freedom Park on Lagos Island, you might find yourself given an impromptu lesson in Nigerian theatre by two or more people unaware of the show they’re putting on, casting a spell on the often-unwilling audience. I was here to meet a real performer, though and dismissed my surroundings with that expectation. However, as my wait stretched on, I found myself pulled into the performance of a group around drinks and meat. There was poetry in their aggression. Two men from the group, middle-aged, out-of-shape, and chain-smoking, held my gaze…