Ahead of the highly anticipated premiere of The Call at the Lagos International Theatre Festival (LITF) on Saturday, November 16, director Dr. Bisi Adigun shared insights about the production at a preview event in Lagos. The one-man play, which will also show on Sunday, November 17 at the Agip Hall of the Muson Centre, Onikan at 5.30 pm, is written by veteran actor and playwright Bimbo Manuel.
Featuring Toyin Oshinaike as Evangelist Tosin, it promises a humourous yet thought-provoking exploration of faith and humanity.
In this interview with thelagosreview.ng’s Terh Agbedeh, Dr. Adigun delves into the casting process, the creative collaboration with Manuel, and why the play is set to resonate with audiences across all backgrounds.
Terh Agbedeh: I have been told that you are responsible for casting Touin Oshinaike as Evangelist Tosin in The Call, why him, why did you pick him?
Dr Bisi Adigun: That’s a very good question. I have had the opportunity to work with him a number of times. The first was when he played the lead role for me in my production of a play of mine, which is Home to Home, which was my offering at the Muson Festival in 2010. That time Nigeria was celebrating its 50th independence anniversary, so I brought the play from Ireland and I cast him to play Dabs.
I came back in 2017 and did Death and the King’s Horseman at Terra Kulture. As a matter of fact, I had done it in UNILAG and I wanted to use Wale J, may his soul rest in peace, Wale J with Tunji Sotimirin and Wale J pulled out eventually. Somebody said I should pick Toyin. So Toyin came onboard almost like three days before the performance and he just blew me away. What I love about him is that he is very humble and a powerhouse of an actor. I love his unassuming nature. Up till tomorrow, he still calls me Baba mi.
When I got the script [The Call] two years ago, I told Bimbo [Manuel] that I think one person that can embody the physicality of this character is Toyin Oshinaike. And I’m very excited.
The play makes me laugh a lot.
It is a comedy.
And I wonder if that was just the script or a factor of having Toyin interpret it. Is that correct?
Well, the thing about it is that, if you have a good line, like for instance, one of the best one for me is when he says, when God refers to the miracle of turning water to wine when he tells God that it was non–alcoholic wine. You know, the truth of the matter is that it is a good line but what you want is for the line to be delivered accordingly. That is why I tell people that that is the difference between drama and theatre; drama is the text on the page, lifeless, while theatre is a play on stage embodied by an actor. So, the line you read on a page won’t make you laugh, but when it is embodied by a very good actor that has good timing and is at the top of his game, you are onto something.
Toyin Oshinaike on stageI guess that is why you chose Toyin.
That’s right, that’s right.
Your plays have travelled.
Indeed.
Are you going to take The Call out of the country after the festival?
This is Cheeky Dog’s production but the truth of the matter is that it has been wonderful working with him and the good thing about this play is that it is very economical. We are used to seeing plays with lots of people. For instance, Ropo was supposed to bring a play from Ibadan, Langbodo, I think with like 40 cast members. Now, this is a one-man play with a voice. If I want to be more economical, I would record the voice and have an operator just press the button. But I really wanted that interaction with the voice.
But to answer your question, this is a play that can travel easily and even the set is minimalistic. So, just put them in a car and we go.
I have to say that I’m really excited about this festival. Without this festival, we have been trying to do this play for the past two years. So that’s what the festival does, it provides a platform to make plays.
Bimbo Manuel wrote the play and you are directing, have you had any crisis that you want to talk about?
Yes, they are good crises because there is no way you are going to collaborate…but there wasn’t a major crisis. As somebody who has had his plays produced abroad, I just came back from Philadelphia where my play was done and I like the way they respect my words. And what I have done is any change, if I have to change things, I let him know. And one thing I have noticed about him is that he is very particular about his words. So, our crisis has been very constructive, very productive. The point is, I know my job and it is to interpret your play to the best of my ability. If something is not clear to me, you’ve got to make it clear or look for something else for me. And if I can’t interpret it, we have to yank it off. If I don’t understand it, my audience won’t understand.
It sounds like you didn’t have any challenges while doing this play.
No, no, no, we didn’t. As a matter of fact, for me the best was, I was trying to get the ending, which for me, when I was reading it I said this feels like a sermon so I changed it and he loved it.
What do you have to say to the people coming to see the play?
This play is non-discriminatory. That is the beauty of the play. Everybody can come and those who will enjoy it the most are those that know the songs. There is something about songs, drums that will take you to another level. That is why total theatre is the best. We call our theatre total theatre because we don’t communicate only by word of word, we communicate by dance , through music, through songs. It is part and parcel of our life. So, what they will see is the total reality, a total experience. It is a very thought-provoking, topical, comical theatre, so come and enjoy good theatre and one day, you will know whether you are called or not.
Thank you so much.
