All is set for premiere of an epic play, Odigbose on Saturday, October 17 at MUSON Centre in Lagos.

The play Odigbose, with a telling and gripping scenery, has never been put on live theatre before. It is laden with emotions, pains and brutality, hypocrisy and betrayals as well as sufferings of immeasurable proportion; all leading to catharsis when the light finally fades.

This is as the history of the obnoxious slave trade will take the centre stage art the Agip Hall of MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

The Play is a dramatic and theatrical piece written by Otunba Wanle Akinboboye. It is a relive and recast of the slave trade history as never told or performed before from the perspective of Africans and Nigerians in this case.Akinboboye, who is the Founder and President of La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort and renowned investor and promoter of tourism across the world, is through this historic and dramatic creation, inviting the world to feast on his innate creative ferment beyond the immersive experience that people savour from his promotion of authentic African-theme resorts.

Aptly described as “The first African account of the slave trade,” Odigbose is not just a play. It is a pilgrimage into the past. It is a mirror. It is a memory. It is theatre at its most profound, most honest and most African best form of entertainment and story telling.For centuries, the story of the transatlantic slave trade has been told by others.

In Odigbose, Africa reclaims its voice. Africa tells its own story, in its own rhythm, with its own tears, with its own truth and with its author, director, cast and crew and within it hallowed soil.The production promises a deeply moving, visually arresting and emotionally riveting theatrical experience that will transport audiences into the heart of one of Africa’s most painful yet defining chapters. Through powerful dramatic performances, haunting chants, soul-stirring music, dance and storytelling, the play will portray the enslavement and captivating and profound inhuman treatment by a set of humanity – Europeans; to another set of humanity – Africans. This encompasses various degrees of pains and suffering ever seen and recorded in human history; ranging from beating to stupor, chaining, prolonged agony and forced transportation of Africans.

A production of Atunda Entertainment, an outfit of Akinboboye dedicated to musical and theatre productions, will employ the full African theatrical elements; including artistry, dance, music and choreography and colours as well as profound oratory, to tell the story and treat the audiences to the best of African live theatre.In the midst of these deprivations and ill-treatment, what comes to the fore is the profound human resilience, courage, spirit and unbroken soul of a people – Blacks.More than entertainment, Odigbose is an encounter. An encounter with history. An encounter with identity. An encounter with heritage. It invites us to reflect on the human cost of slavery, its enduring scars, and more importantly, the strength of the African spirit that survived it.Through this historical narrative, ODIGBOSE seeks to awaken a deeper appreciation of African history among all generations, especially the younger generation, reminding us that to know where we are going, we must never forget where we have been. It is a call to preserve historical memory, to honour our ancestors, and to celebrate the indomitable African heritage that no chain could ever break.This premiere is expected to attract royalty, theatre enthusiasts, cultural ambassadors, historians, scholars, captains of industry, members of the diplomatic community and lovers of authentic African stories.