It was full blown pandemonium, chaos and excitement at the J. Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture & History. On the night of the 15th of March 2025 at 7pm precisely or should I say beginning at 7pm precisely.
Consummate Thespian Oladotun Olagbadebo got on stage and gave us a “Therapy” we could not forget in a hurry even if we tried.
This one woman army acting troupe took us through a who life time leaving us crying, laughing out loud, agreeing, disagreeing and feeling every spectrum of emotions there is.
The occasion? A one woman theatre performance called “Therapy”. The production was brought to life by Duchess Productions and Sweet Potato Films, was helmed by director Tosin Adeyemi. Behind the scenes, a solid crew ensured every detail was seamless – Joy Nmezi (Stage Manager), Annabel Ahanmisi, Dolapo Shaola, and Kehinde Adeyemi (Front of House), One House Lighting Crew (Lighting), AE Distinct Global Communications (Sound), and percussionist Jedalo, whose beats underscored the night’s emotional highs and lows.
This play detailed lots and lots of experiences, abuse, pain, emotional abuse that women have had to go through from a young child to a full grown adult.
Some of the stories told were taken from real life accounts of the actor who also doubled as the writer.
At several points people were Seen crying and responding to what was going on stage and it all felt too real for a lot of the audience.
This beautiful performance came to a close with rausing applause and a standing ovation. Closing followed by granting the audience an opportunity to speak about what they had just experienced. Hmmm, it was a lot, there were commendations for the actor and crew that put this together. There came “man talk, woman talk” conversations about the role of parenting, marriage, a man’s life, a woman’s life etc We we’re all so engrossed it took the moderator to come and round things off.
This play, I would say, really achieved its objective.
Among the captivated audience were industry heavyweights like Kate Henshaw, Ifeanyi Chidi (TV writer, Riona, Cheta’m), Toyin Oshinaike (Actor/Director), and Kenneth Uphopho (Director/Festival Producer).
The night also saw a key moment of clarification from Kudus Onikeku, MD of the J. Randle Centre, who addressed a common misconception—it’s J. Randle Centre, not J.K. Randle Centre. He spoke passionately about the centre’s commitment to the arts and upcoming collaborations that will further elevate theatre in Lagos.
Up next, picture pictures and more conversation
All in all it was a beautiful night, the play, the ambiance, the people…
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