The Conquest of the North Pole

We received an invitation to an event this evening that could easily have made the cut for an episode of 'Ambassadors' (although, to be honest, this is not unusual; we do find ourselves reflecting most days on incidents that would be worthy of inclusion). The Czech Embassy were hosting a performance of a comedy by their most famous playwright, Jara Cimrman, pithily entitled 'The Conquest of the North Pole by the Czech Karel Němec on 5 April 1909'. (Being a fictional construct doesn't appear to be a huge impediment to progression in the Czech Republic: Cimrman was voted 'The Greatest Czech' in a national competition in 2005 - although admittedly he was later disqualified on the grounds that he did not exist - and a popular theatre in Prague is named in his honour).

The fact that the play was written by a non-existent author was by no means the oddest aspect of the evening. The play itself includes a lengthy preamble about Cimrman, the staging of the production and the hiring of a new stage manager, which is funny for about 5 minutes, but tedious after 25. However, the main play itself is actually very amusing and the actors, from the Jos Repertory Theatre, did incredibly well with a difficult play and kept (for the most part) the audience engaged and entertained. Although it was quite bizarre to watch a group of Nigerian actors on stage, sweltering in their woollen hats, gloves and North Face jackets as they pretended to ascend to the North Pole, I think they pulled it off - and in some ways, the total incongruousness of the staging only added to the impact of the play.

As well as expanding my non-existent knowledge of Czech playwrights, I was really pleased to have had a chance to learn about the Jos Repertory Theatre this evening. Founded in 1997, it is difficult to think of a theatre company almost anywhere in the world that faces more challenges that this group of committed and determined actors. A blog post by their artistic director, Patrick-Jude Oteh reveals the struggles that they have keeping the company together in the face of the ethnic violence that has plagued the capital of Plateau state over the past twenty years. The 8th Jos Festival of Theatre has just taken place, where the company performed six plays over the course of a week, and they have now brought two of those plays to Abuja. Having learned more about their work I am delighted to hear that they will be performing again in Abuja at the end of the month, when they will present Wole Soyinka's 'The Lion and the Jewel' at the Institut Francais. And at least I know for sure that Soyinka exists.