AJOFEST ’86 At 40: RMD And Theatre Legends Reunite To Relive A Cultural Revolution

BY PRINCE ADEYEMI SHONIBARE

Forty years after AJOFEST ’86 brought four of Papa Fred Agbeyegbe’s plays to the National Theatre, members of the festival’s original cast, crew and creative community will reunite in Lagos for an afternoon of memories, dramatic readings and reflections on a defining chapter in Nigerian theatre.

Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD), Ayo Lijadu, Lara Akinsola, Professor Segun Ojewuyi and other practitioners will headline “AJOFEST ’86 – 40 Years Later: Reunion and Reflections”.

The gathering will reconnect veterans of the 1986 productions, honour Agbeyegbe’s legacy and introduce younger audiences and practitioners to the people, ideas and artistic ambition behind the festival.

The event is scheduled for Sunday 1 November 2026 at 4pm at Queen Amina Gardens, National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, in collaboration with the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP).

The programme will include a keynote address, a panel discussion featuring members of the original theatrical community, dramatic readings from the four plays, tributes to contributors and conversations about the future of Nigerian theatre. Original cast and crew members, cultural leaders, scholars, patrons, students and younger performers are expected to attend.

The reunion will also recognise the work of the late Dr Fred Omadeli Agbeyegbe, playwright, lawyer, publisher, cultural advocate and founder of Ajo Productions.

Four plays, one vision

The reunion returns to the achievement that brought the AJOFEST community together. Staged in 1986 during Nigeria’s military era, AJOFEST presented four of Agbeyegbe’s plays at the National Theatre: The King Must Dance Naked, Woe Unto Death, The Last Omen and Budiso.

Presented over four consecutive weekends, the festival demonstrated that privately funded Nigerian theatre could attract large audiences when supported by strong writing, professional production and sustained investment.

It followed Ajo Productions’ annual presentation of an Agbeyegbe play from 1983 to 1986. His works addressed tradition, justice, political authority, authoritarianism and the abuse of power.

The King Must Dance Naked questioned child sacrifice and the unquestioning defence of tradition, while Budiso used political satire to examine authoritarian rule. Those themes remain relevant to contemporary Nigerian society.

AJOFEST also created opportunities for actors, directors and technical professionals, several of whom went on to establish careers in Nigeria and abroad.

At the anniversary gathering, attendees will have the opportunity to revisit the artistic and organisational choices that made the festival significant, while hearing directly from some of the people who helped bring it to the stage.

RMD and other veterans to share memories

The programme will turn those memories into a shared public conversation, with a keynote address by veteran journalist and former arts editor of The Guardian, Ben Tomoloju.

Richard Mofe-Damijo, Ayo Lijadu, Yomi Layinka and Lara Akinsola will participate in a panel moderated by Dr Lookman Sanusi.

Professor Segun Ojewuyi, Dr Tunji Sotimirin, Godwin Onohwosa, Jahman Anikulapo and Adeniran Makinde, FTA, are also expected to discuss the festival’s history and influence.

The Crown Troupe of Africa, affiliated with NANTAP, will coordinate dramatic readings from the four productions, giving attendees a chance to encounter the plays again in performance.

Tributes will honour members of the original theatrical community, including Jide Ogungbade, Pero Sosan, Sola Awojobi, Victoria Ajomeyimje and Akpor Otebele, as well as other contributors.

More than a commemoration, the event will reunite participants from 1986 and create a meeting point between the generation that built AJOFEST and younger practitioners shaping Nigerian theatre today.

Papa Fred Agbeyegbe: the man who funded his vision

The reunion is anchored in the life and work of its founder, Papa Fred Agbeyegbe.

Agbeyegbe combined legal training with playwriting and social activism. Through his writing and investment in theatre, he examined social injustice, political authority and traditions that undermined human dignity.

From Vanguard tribute published in July 2025, “Papa Fred Agbeyegbe @ 90 A Vanguard of Stage, Law and Activism”, placed his contribution to the arts within a broader legacy of law, activism and cultural engagement.

His support for Ajo Productions demonstrated the importance of combining artistic vision with funding, organisation and sustained production at a time when private investment in professional theatre was limited.

Practitioners associated with Ajo Productions and AJOFEST included Richard Mofe-Damijo, Clarion Chukwurah, Antar Laniyan, Lara Akinsola and Tunji Sotimirin.

Through the anniversary programme, organisers will honour Agbeyegbe’s literary work and his belief that Nigerian stories deserved ambitious productions and serious investment.

Preserving AJOFEST’s history

The reunion will also look beyond the stage to the task of preserving the festival’s history.

Organisers are seeking photographs, original programmes, newspaper reports, recordings and personal recollections from former cast and crew members, audience members and the public.

The materials could support theatre historians, researchers, educational institutions and cultural organisations while documenting the people and work behind the productions.

Conversations at the event will also address the future of live theatre, arts funding, performance spaces and training for writers, directors, actors and technical specialists.

As digital entertainment and screen productions expand, AJOFEST’s history highlights the theatre’s role as a space for imagination, social commentary and shared experience. Attendees will be invited to consider how that role can be sustained for future generations.

The curtain rises again

The organising committee and NANTAP have invited theatre practitioners, cultural institutions, journalists, students, historians, arts patrons and members of the public to join the reunion.

With free admission, the event offers audiences an opportunity to hear first-hand accounts of AJOFEST ’86, watch dramatic readings from the four productions, honour the festival’s contributors and take part in a wider conversation about Nigerian theatre’s past and future.

The event is scheduled for 4pm on Sunday 1 November 2026 at Queen Amina Gardens, National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos. It is being organised in collaboration with NANTAP, and admission is free. Online participation is available at https://bit.ly/4dpVSoJ.

Former participants and members of the public with archival materials or personal recollections are encouraged to contact the organising committee.

Dr Lillian Agbeyegbe is the convener / coordinator, while media/ enquiries can be sent to ajofest86@gmail.com.