Nollywood actor Mustapha Sholagbade has taken the campaign for girl-child empowerment to the United Kingdom with the staging of ‘Abo’ (The Girl Child).
The theatre production examines the challenges and societal restrictions faced by girls, particularly within African families.
The stage play, produced by Dr Adedoyin Ashiru, was staged in Northampton, UK, with Sholagbade serving as director and also featuring as one of the lead actors.
The production explores the treatment of the girl child in African society, particularly the tendency to restrict girls and place greater value on boys within the family.
Speaking on the production, Sholagbade said the play was conceived to challenge such attitudes and remind audiences of the important role women play in society.
According to him, ‘Abo’ seeks to reinforce the message that women are capable of achieving as much as, and in some instances more than, men when given the opportunity.
The actor also used the production to highlight the importance of theatre as a means of connecting Nigerians and other Africans living in the diaspora with their culture.
Sholagbade had noted that stage productions provide an avenue for people in the diaspora, many of whom work throughout the week, to experience live entertainment and cultural storytelling.
He also described the return of stage plays to prominence as a positive development in the entertainment industry, pointing to the longstanding contributions of practitioners who continued to promote theatre even when screen productions dominated the Nigerian entertainment landscape.
For Sholagbade, ‘Abo’ represents more than an acting project, as it combines his interests in acting, directing and cultural storytelling while using theatre to draw attention to issues affecting the girl child.
The production also comes as the actor continues to balance his acting career between Nigeria and the UK, where he has been based in recent years.