Four decades after Dr. Fred Agbeyegbe’s four-play festival lit up the National Theatre in Iganmu with daring political satire under military rule, Nigerian theatre veterans are set to reunite.
The Organising Committee of Ajofest ’86 – 40 Years Later, in partnership with the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), will host “Reunion and Reflections” at Queen Amina Gardens, National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at 4pm, with Richard Mofe-Damijo, Ayo Lijadu and Lara Akinsola among those billed to take part.
Former Arts Editor of The Guardian, Ben Tomoloju, will deliver the keynote address, with Richard Mofe-Damijo, Ayo Lijadu, Yomi Layinka, and Lara Akinsola serving as panelists. Dr. Lookman Sanusi will moderate the session. Professor Segun Ojewuyi, Dr. Tunji Sotimirin, Godwin Onohwosa, Jahman Anikulapo, and Adeniran Makinde, FTA, will share reflections on Ajofest ’86. Dramatic readings from all four featured festival plays will be coordinated by NANTAP-affiliated Crown Troupe of Africa. Tributes will honour Jide Ogungbade, Pero Sosan, Sola Awojobi, Victoria Ajomeyimje, Akpor Otebele and others.
The afternoon brings together original cast and crew members, patrons, and a new generation of theatre practitioners for a keynote address, a panel on the festival’s legacy, tributes, reflections, and dramatic readings from all four featured festival plays.
In 1986, the National Theatre in Lagos hosted the Ajo Festival of Plays (Ajofest ’86): four consecutive weekends featuring four original productions – The King Must Dance Naked, Woe Unto Death, The Last Omen and Budiso. All four were written by Dr. Fred Agbeyegbe, who also served as executive producer.
Conceived and privately financed by Dr. Agbeyegbe through Ajo Productions, the festival drew capacity audiences with daring political satire staged under military rule. By its close in August 1986, the festival had solidified its place in cultural history and helped launch the careers of many of Nigeria’s most prominent stage and screen luminaries.
The original company was led by artistic director Jide Ogungbade, associate director Ben Tomoloju and stage manager Segun Ogunfidodo. The ensemble cast and crew included Christina Achebe, Yinka Adeyemo, Lara Akinsola, Sola Awojobi, Yomi Gbolagunte, Antar Laniyan, Ayo Lijadu, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Segun Ojewuyi, Akpor Otebele, Pero Sosan and Tunji Sotimirin. Several surviving members will return to participate in the November 1 programme.
With much of the festival’s legacy surviving primarily through oral memory, this commemoration seeks to document firsthand accounts, formally record its impact on Nigerian theatrical history, and bridge the dialogue between veteran pioneers and contemporary practitioners.
“Ajofest ’86 was a bold act of private investment in Nigerian theatre, and its plays spoke truth at a critical time in our national life,” said Dr. Lillian Agbeyegbe, Coordinator of the Organizing Committee. “Forty years later, we want to honour the visionaries who built it, preserve their first hand stories, and pass that rich legacy to the next generation.”
“Partnering on this milestone underscores NANTAP’s commitment to honouring the foundations of modern Nigerian performance. Ajofest ’86 proved that independent theatre could thrive and reshape our cultural dialogue,” said Adeniran Makinde, FTA, National President of NANTAP.
All members of the arts community and the general public are invited, whether they were in the audience in 1986, on stage, or are discovering this history for the first time. The committee also encourages the public to share archival items – photographs, programmes, newspaper clippings, audio/video recordings and personal anecdotes – to help build a permanent public archive. Materials can be shared via the email address below.
Admission is free. Online participation is available – https://bit.ly/4dpVSoJ
Media and Sponsorship Contact
Dr. Lillian Agbeyegbe Coordinator, Organizing Committee
•Featured image: Fred Agbeyegbe/supplied