The Bite Magazine - Autmn/Winter 2020 - Issue 28

Lisa Ogun’ was lucky to attend the online streaming event of Oladipo Agboluaje’s new writing, and Utopia Theatre Mojisola Elufowoju’s directorship of Here’s What She Said to Me, performed live at The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield just as lockdown 2.0 was approaching in the UK. bitetheatre actresses’ creative prowess and the director for how they were able to convey each character: some male, some young, some old, some Nigerian, some British; nuances, dialects, accents and all so convincing where each char- acter could be easily identified through voice and tone by even a sight-impaired audience member. Typical to Nigerian plays, the actresses’ voice tones each entice you to ‘hear her story’, and one is drawn to listen carefully and closely. This first scene sets the sub-textu- al aspects of Agbeke’s background, living with a man- of-the-cloth as a father, and having a strong Nigerian business-owner, a pagan maternal grandmother who advises her to “take [her] education seriously” as “times are changing. Women are sitting at the high table.” Also, in this scene, we are amusingly introduced to the female power struggle, with each female character undermining each other to have the reigning last word and rule - a com- mon trait running right through the play. “If I were like you, I’d have never found a man to marry me!” shouts her mother to Iya-alasho. It is obvious that there is a soft spot in Iya-alasho’s heart for Agbeke, who not only draws her into confidential sentiments regarding the mother but subtly plants seeds of strength in the child’s mind. Something I loved about this scene, is at one point, the two women play the Nigerian female game ten-ten, whilst arguing, to depict the competitive conflict between them, resulting in the tension coming to a head, which be- comes pivotal to the rest of the stories played out. I loved this theatrical convention - so cleverly reminiscent! A fast-paced play, set over multiple scenes, time periods and of course, countries, each period of time that lapses onwards, is declared at the start, by the main character, of each scene; the narrator. From ‘two years later’ when Agbeke visits Iya-alasho in Ilesha where defiant to Bishop and his regard for Agbeke’s Christian upbringing, intro- duces her to her family deity, causing familial tension; to the 1960s when Nigeria has won its independence, and Agbeke travels to London, having won a scholarship in law where she later meets Korode, a Muslim much to the dismay of Bishop, who she sacrifices her promise to Iya- alasho of attaining her seat at “the high table” for; to at- tending Iya-alasho’s funeral in Ibadan, bringing her back home; to ‘1974’ when Omotola, her 7-year-old daughter (played by Estella Daniels) with a well-spoken British accent, starts to narrate her time moving from Hackney, London to Nigeria, and who is told that “In Ibadan, you are a princess” as she starts to dream of a life living in Ni- geria. SheSaidToMe