by Jewel Stephen

This November, something fresh and unique will be hitting the Lagos art and entertainment circuit. Finding Home, a theater piece delivered entirely in spoken word poetry, and scheduled to tour across Africa, will make its grand debut at Terra Kulture on the 14th of November.

Finding Home follows ten dynamic characters across Africa, abroad, and back again, as they tackle the fluid concept of home and identity, exploring the hopes and disappointments of young cosmopolitan Africans in the place of their birth.

Featuring a world-class ensemble of performance poets including Nigerian-American, Bassey Ikpi, Titilope Sonuga, Efe Paul Azino, Donna, Ndukwe Onuoha, Obii Ifejika, Sheila Ojei, Sola Fakile, Wanna Udobang, Sage Hasson and Plumbline, the performance will be directed by British based director and actor, Femi Elufowoju Jr.

According to renowned performance poet and member of the production team, Efe Paul Azino, “Finding Home tells a story of African international migration we are all familiar with. The desperadoes who brave the Sahara and the Mediterranean to make into Europe; the hustlers who leave wives at home to marry women abroad old enough to be their mothers; women trapped in vicious cycles of prostitution; those who cross thousands of miles to sell their kidneys; these stories are told through one of the most compelling mediums ever and by some of the finest performance poets in the game.”

“Finding Home pushes the boundary by being the first spoken word theater production to be toured across Africa with performances in Lagos, Accra, Nairobi, and Johannesburg. We invite guests, partners and sponsors to join us as we make history.”

The production is coming from the stable of G.R.I.O.T, a poetry collective, and GbagyiChild Entertainment, conveners of popular Lagos based arts and entertainment gig, Taruwa.

Kolapo Olapoju