The Bite Magazine - Autmn/Winter 2020 - Issue 28

bitetheatre THEATRE REVIEW FLOWER T he musical phenomenon, Flower the Mu- sical, directed by the acclaimed produc- er-director Gbenga Yusuf, is a staged per- formance inspired by true-life experiences. First premiered in the famed and refurbished Terra Kulture Theatre in Lagos, Nigeria back in 2017, it has since been streamed online to an international audi- ence during the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown in 2020 to countries including the UK, Ghana, Austral- ia, Canada, the US, Brazil, and Kenya. Entailing a cast and crew of sixty-five highly talented and creative people, Flower the Musical is a story told in a composition of powerful monologues, challeng- ing dialogues and beautiful choreography to alluring music and song. It tells a story of five modern-day women of various but identifiable backgrounds. An amalgamation of stories based on a career woman, a student, a socialite, a loving wife, and a teenage girl beautifully, yet movingly, highlights themes of gen- der-bias prejudice and violence, child molestation, rape, and female genital mutilation (FGM). Although dire subjects of horror, pain, and op- pression of a marginalised sector of society, Flower the Musical is able to convey the societal message through the best of performative art mediums, add- ing to the present international protest of #MeToo claims for change. Woven into the story thread is a twist that I, for one, never saw coming. Additionally, are the personalities of the characters that, at times and despite their tales of tragedy, infuse humour into the souls of the audi- ence. How better else to lighten the tension of what is being watched than a seasoning of humour? How- ever, never does this flavouring depreciate from the issues being highlighted. THE MU