Song Queen, Pidgin Opera Comes To Town
EMC3 Nigeria in collaboration with Thorburn Investments in aid of the Richard Coker Foundation supported by FCMB presents ‘Song Queen: A Pidgin Opera’ the world’s first pidgin English opera, by The Venus Bushfires AKA Helen Epega.
Friday, 8 November 2019, Students of Falomo Junior High School, Ikoyi (Lagos), distinguished guests and members of the public are in for a treat at the performance of the ground-breaking show at the famous MUSON Centre, Onikan (Lagos).
The day dawns with a twin set of events, the first of which is a matinee hosted by Song Queen: A Pidgin Opera and EMC3, at which JSS3 student winners of The Richard Coker Foundation’s Essay Writing Competition will be presented with their prizes for inspiring articles on the sickle cell condition. The second is an evening performance open to the public.
The literary initiative HOW LIVING WITH SICKLE CELL INSPIRED ME/SOMEONE I KNOW, is part of an annual programme in conjunction with the African Sickle Cell News & World Report, to promote sickle cell awareness through reading, writing, sharing personal stories and reasoning among junior students in public schools in Nigeria. The first prize of N75,000 was won by Fathiah Sadiq, second prize of N40,000 by Jeremiah Ezekiel while third prize of N25,000 went to Precious Duruji all from Falomo Junior High School. The Lagos island school also received financial contributions towards updating its library and computer room.
A similar exercise took place in June 2019 with three selected junior secondary schools on Lagos mainland– Immaculate Heart Junior Comprehensive High School (Maryland), Opebi Junior Grammar School (Opebi) and Yewa Junior High School (Ikorodu).
“This opera is about celebrating that which brings Nigerians together and sharing African art and culture with ourselves and the world in an inclusive way”, says Song Queen’s composer Helen Epega.
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