DAY ONE: 8th Spanish Cultural Week – a drama called The Shoemaker’s Wonderful Wife

The Lagos Room of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel was filled to capacity last night, 7th October 2013, for the drama The Shoemaker's Wonderful Wife, the first event in the on-going Spanish Cultural Week organised by the Embassy of Spain in Abuja. Photo above show's the cast of the play.

About the Shoemaker's Wonderful Wife (Culled from the 8th Spanish Cultural Week programme published by the Embassy of Spain)

Synopsis: A mature shoemaker marries a young and attractive girl, a marriage which, in reality none of them likes. Her desire is to tout around the neighbourhood her long list of suitors, while he laments having acceded to the union. One day the shoemaker leaves his wife. She manages to make a living working at the local bar, at which one day a local puppeteer arrives, and the he happens to be no other than the her husband in disguise…

The playwright: Federico Garcia Lorca, one of the most renowned poets our time, was born in 1898 in a small town near Granada in Spain. After having travelled much and having lived in Madrid for long intervals, Federico would remember how the local ambience of his birth place used to affect his work. According to Lorca, “I love the earth. I feel connected to it in all my emotions.” In his poems and in his dramas he reveals himself as a sharp observer of speech, of music and of the customs of Spanish rural society.

The performers: The Jos Repertory Theatre was founded in November 1997 but commenced program implementation in 2000 as a private not-for-profit independent theatre organisation based in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. It has been involved, among other activities, in training programs for artists including amateurs, the creation of theatre-for-development plays as well as the training of youths in self-employable skills. JRT is currently involved in the formation of first Arts Management Centre in Nigeria. It also presents the annual Jos Festival of Theatre and the Festival of Theatre in Abuja. Both festivals have become nurturing grounds for new playwrights, new directors as well as creating an insight into the Nigerian theatre repertory. The Jos Festival is now in its 8th season.