Ayodele Scott and David Evans first worked together in 1994 under the aegis of Imùlè Theatre.

Having already won national awards for his acting, Ayo gained a scholarship to advance his practice at Leeds University. He proceeded to work with Wole Soyinka, Augusto Boal, Peter Brook and Jerzy Grotowski. Despite, or perhaps because of, these influences Ayo has deepened his loyalty to the ‘Agbo Play’ genre, indigenous to his birthplace of Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Since 1994 Imùlè Theatre has adopted Agbo Play as its pre-eminent style, proving immensely popular in community and educational settings.

Agbo Play fuses performers and spectators in a form of African theatre typically played in the open air in yards, compounds and communal gathering places. It involves drumming, dance and song as stories are playfully ‘pulled’ into the performance space and bodies of the participants. It is a collective celebration, restoring the physical, social and spiritual wellbeing of the ‘gbogbo’ – the ‘flock’ or community.

David Evans trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and acted for four years in several companies, including the Bristol Old Vic, before going to Exeter University to train as a teacher.

Troubled by environmental concerns and the impact of colonialism on indigenous cultures, in 1990 David founded Imùlè. Other founders were Adele Evans, Olu Taiwo (PhD) and Simon Hemmingway. Soon to join the company was Mark Shorto. The intention was to create an accessible, and physical theatre form which reflected the Yoruba culture of Nigeria, where David was born and brought up. As a theatre company, Imùlè celebrated the cultural plurality and diverse performance virtuosities of its members whilst making absolute minimal demands on material resources.

During the 1990s to 2010 Ayo and David toured with Imùlè throughout the South West. Ayo went on to pursue a career mainly in music, while David used his theatre and teaching skills at Exeter University, Department of Child Health developing theatre-based programmes addressing adolescent relationships and sexual health.

‘Native Wit’ is a celebration of a new found friendship and creative collaboration between David and Ayo.

To mark the union we have renamed our organisation ‘Agbo Play’.

Our latest production; ‘The Covenant – A Yoruba Creation Myth’, is a revival and reworking of the earliest work by Imùlè Theatre. The Covenant explores further the ethos of audience as co-creators of the event, inviting participants to sing, chant, clap and dance.

Review: The Covenant