Crown Troupe of Africa Celebrates 16 Years

On the first day in the month of June 1996 a group of young people came together. They met in the sitting room of a flat occupied by the mother of one of them in the house of foremost Nigerian musician King Sunny Ade. His son Adekunle Adegeye was one of them, and he went on to become the first choreographer of the repertory group. These young people shared one thing in common--passion for performance. They started Crown Troupe of Africa. Over the years, the group has metamorphosed into a socially conscious one, from entertainers to commentators. Located in Bariga, a place noted for (amongst others things) poor living standards, the group has continuously created a platform of expression through the arts for young people who otherwise might be tempted to channel their youthful energy to less auspicious vocations.

Crown Troupe has been selected to be part of Contacting The World, a biennial youth theatre festival organized by Contact Theatre, which is based in Manchester. They have been twinned with another UK Based Theatre Company, Boundless Productions, Manchester. There have been exchanges between the two companies, with a member of Crown Troupe visiting Boundless Productions in March and the visit reciprocated in April by Cat Dowling of Boundless Productions.

It's Crown Troupe's 16th year of creative engagements, and they plan to celebrate the anniversary with a mixed menu of performances at different locations in Lagos, culminating in a grand finale at the National Theatre on Friday 29 June 2012. There will also be a tour of some Nigerian universities (among them Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife and University of Ibadan) with two new creations, before the group heads off to the International Youth Theatre Festival at which they were selected and are slated to perform in Manchester.

Dates and venues the Crown Troupe 16th anniversary performances

• June 8, The Life House, Sinari Daranijo, Victoria Island
• June 10, Ember Creek, Awolowo Way, Ikoyi
• June 29, National Arts Theatre, Orile Iganmu.

(The Director and Choreographer of Crown Troupe, Segun Adefila, facilitated a drama workshop for children at GCLF 2011.)