The Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK) Community will not forget Wednesday, 12th October, 2016, in a hurry, as memories of the play, Sweet Revenge by Irene Salami, as produced by Final Year Students from the Department of Theatre and Cultural Studies will continue to linger in their minds.
The production of the play by the students came on the heels of a course requirement in Production Workshop, organized by the Executive Secretary/CEO, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Associate Professor Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma.
In the play, Sweet Revenge, a metaphoric satire for intrigues and squabbles that characterize most family affairs, a trained medical doctor, Aisosa Ojo (Joy Ameh) hands for her husband Sota (Marvin Martins). Her determination to surmount the challenges of life made her to excel in her profession, which contributes in electing her husband to the National Assembly, but he sends her packing in order to bring in his oyibo wife, Cheryl (Hembadoon Agayo).
Sota becomes reckless inn his dealings with his constituents, not even allowing them to have access to him. However, it becomes double tragedy for him, as the people decide to vote in his wife, Aisosa, to take over from him; and he eventually wallows in penury, shame and confusion without anyone to stand by him.
The message in Sweet Revenge portrays how women can still survive in a male dominated society irrespective of their background; it play also mocks how some husbands restrict their wives to the domestic front, not allowing them to explore their potentials.
Aisosa, in the play, is restricted to the confines of her home by Sota, which is a depiction of the social satire, where the egocentrism of some men is laid bare when they gain political or financial power and tend to forget how they started.
The play, which gives women the voice and opportunity to serve and probably do better than the men, generally, emphasizes more on womanism and gender equality, a society where couples are meant to complement each other in the family when the need arises, rather than a patriarchal society.
Caleb Nor
Corporate Affairs Unit
NICO, Abuja