The Fishermen at HOME
Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor
Chigozie Obioma’s is one of Africa’s major new voices – his debut novel, The Fishermen garnered much critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2015. In an unmissable new adaptation by the award-winning Gbolahan Obisesan, New Perspectives Theatre Company in association with HOME, bring this powerful allegory of brotherhood, retribution and fate to the stage.
Set in a small town in Nigeria in the mid-1990’s, The Fishermen tells the story of four middle-class brothers, Ikenna, Boja, Obembe and Benjamin, who decide to slip away and go fishing at a forbidden river. Carefully hiding their fishing kit when they come home, their mother is unaware of the goings-on until they are discovered by their neighbour a few weeks later. One day at the river they meet Abulu, a dangerous local madman who has the power of prophecy. He predicts that one of the brothers – a fisherman – will kill another. This evil foreboding threatens the core of the close-knit family and changes the course of all of their lives forever.
Directed by New Perspectives’ Artistic Director Jack McNamara, The Fishermen combines Greek tragedy with classic African storytelling, illuminating Nigeria in all of its political, historical and cultural complexity. The production will premiere at HOME in Manchester ahead of a run at Edinburgh Fringe and a UK tour.
