Egusi Soup

Synopsis

A funny and poignant debut play from new Menagerie Associate Writer, Janice Okoh. As a British-Nigerian family pack their suitcases and prepare to head home for a funeral they realise they will need to get rid of some excess baggage first... a fast, furious and funny new family drama about life in London, death in Lagos and soup on the kitchen table! Contains strong language.

Our Review:

Anne Morley-Priestman - 9 October 2009

There's a real drama as well as fully three-dimensional characters in the play by Janice Okoh produced for a short East Anglian tour by Menagerie – which premiered it during this summer's Hotbed Festival – and Eastern Angles. Paul Bourne directs the revised text as a fully staged but script-in-hand production. More work needs to be done, including some judicious cutting, but the essence of the play is already apparent.

At its heart are three women, all with African roots but with a British background. The eldest is the widowed Mrs Anyia, preparing to return to Nigeria a year after her husband's death for the traditional memorial ceremonies. One daughter Grace has subsided from a career as an actress into work at the human resources department of a company as well as an unsatisfactory marriage to a preacher's nephew. He is full of resentment – at the lack of recognition for his MBA, at his minimal status in the UK compared to in his home village, at his inability to fath...

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Latest User Review

Ano Nymous - 13 October 2009:

I stayed for the after show discussion to try and get a better understanding of the performance. On discovering that the cast had only 3 days (including the performance day) to put the whole thing together I have to take my hat off to them. I thought they did pretty well, considering the time. The after show discussion helped me see the potential of the play and hopefully, one day I will get to see it in it's full, non-script-in-hand glory. Good luck!...

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