MYSTERY.. the beautiful pictures

The Agip Hall, Muson Centre, Lagos came alive for three days beginning from May 20, 2011 with mystery of stage drama bringing unreserved excitement to the audience like the times of old. The play itself was entitled Mystery.

The play written and directed by Michael Asuelime employed the rare style of “two people” conversation, a lawyer and an ex-convict, the storyline was marvellous with a lot of twist, the inclusion of the ‘Mystery Woman’ and some amazing dancers depicted brilliance on the part of the author as the combination of the woman, actors and dancers brought a scintillating performance on the night.

The playwright, one must say, succeeded in adding value to the renewed culture of stage appreciation, backed by the performance drawn from an interesting storyline. One of the things which made the play awesome was its two-man showmanship; one would have expected it to be a bit boring; on the contrary, it kept the audience spellbound all through. One major spectacle was the Mystery woman who dropped from the sky while singing a soul touching song; that wowed the audience and even left some petrified.

The main casts for the play were Yemi Blaq who played the role of the lawyer, OC Ukeje who played the role of the ex-convict and Kemi‘LALA’ Akindoju who played the role of the mystery woman. The conversation between the lawyer and the ex-convict was one that cannot be forgotten in a hurry. The lawyer misrepresented the ex-convict a couple of years back and now, the ex-convict is out he wants the lawyer to represent himself before the ex-convict who has chosen to be the judge in a case he’s also involved. However, the ex-convict is more concerned with deciding if the lawyer lives or dies depending on how well he represents himself. The mystery woman narrated the story which the two main characters interpreted; the brilliant inclusion of the traditional dance was a clear indication that the author really loves his roots,

The interpretation of the roles by the cast was splendid; you could feel the tension in the air, the emotion laden voices, the struggle, the pain, one detail that left the audience speechless was the song rendered by the ex-convict. The mystery woman was also amazing as one could not ascertain her age or origin from her dance steps, words and looks. She was simply ageless
The stage design was remarkable as it paid attention to details; it depicted an unused warehouse as you could see the ladder, the water drum and other important props. The lighting played an important role in the overall success of the play; it showed every detail capturing time and moods. 

The high points of the play might differ from person to person but going by the claps and gasps in the hall, one would say that the point where the woman dropped from the sky was terrifying as it was impressive. Quite applauding was the soulful song she was singing while descending. It was also thought provoking that the lawyer, even when tied, could argue with a man who subdued him. The notable lesson in all is that what a man chooses to neglect today could come back to haunt him tomorrow.