Ibi Kontein’s love for theatre led her to create Sabi Arts, a theatre company that has staged plays like Dear Applicant, Waterside and Back for Ground. There is a form of electricity that courses through her veins when she sits in front of a live performance. It is this feeling she wants to gift the audience who comes to watch her plays.
With Sabi Arts, Kontein desires to do things on her own terms; it is why she writes, directs and produces. The stories the company tell could be described as unconventional but they always shine a light on the ills of society from misogyny to the oil exploration in south-south. Kontein has succeeded in positioning stories as whistleblowers.
In a conversation with 49th Street, Ibi Kontein shares the story behind the creation of Sabi Arts, the stories that captivate her, and her aspirations for Sabi Arts.
What led to the creation of Sabi Arts? You could have chosen film, as this feels more popular in Nigeria, so why theatre?
Ibi Kontein: Nothing is more impactful than theatre. The intimacy of a shared space, a live audience, breaking the 4th wall, and an in-person experience. It doesn’t get more attention-grabbing than this. I’ve always been thrilled by live performances. Film is great, but I don’t think it’s my calling yet. My BSc and MSc have nothing to do with theatre. Everything I know about theatre came from research, reading, experience, and watching other plays.
Sabi Arts started because I wanted to tell my own stories on my own terms. I write, direct, and produce all my scripts. I know what story I want to tell, so I write it. I know how I want to tell it, so I direct it. I know the experience I want people to have, so I produce it. I absolutely love doing things on my own terms. I’m not going to sit around with my script and try to pitch to directors or producers. I had to get it done somehow.
Yes, films are popular, but that’s not what I’m after. I need people leaving my shows feeling like they’ve just had the best experience of their lives and the most memorable lesson. And I’m so grateful because that’s what I’ve always given people. I mean, ask anybody who’s been to any of my shows.
What kind of stories is Sabi Arts interested in telling? Do you feel like those stories you are telling have an impact? If so, could you give me an example of the time you felt or saw this impact in real time?
Ibi Kontein: I like to say that we tell unconventional stories. All the conversations people dodge, ignore, skirt around, and hide from, I talk about them in my plays. I love storytelling. We will talk about all the uncomfortable truths, and nobody’s going to beat me. As a Nigerian woman, specifically a South-South woman, I’m telling all our stories. If you want history to be recorded correctly, you must tell it yourself.
Last year, I did a play called Waterside. It was on the oil exploration of the 1950s and the devastating consequences on the riverine communities that host these oil companies. A lot of the history being peddled was not a true statement of events. I had to play my own part in recording history accurately. Talk about my people; tell our own truths. Nobody was telling these stories, but someone had to do it.
After the play, I heard people saying ‘Oh, I didn’t know about this’ or ‘I didn’t know that happened like that.’ Well, now you know. You’re welcome. I mean, it was 2024, and I had people saying they thought Rivers state and all Eastern states were the same thing. It was appalling, but not surprising. In all, I’m grateful that Sabi Arts provides enlightenment.
Can you walk me through the inner workings of the company? Is it a collective or a theatre company?
Ibi Kontein: It’s a theatre company. I am the founder and CEO. Also, the creative director because I write, direct, and lead production on all our plays. I know this sounds like a lot, but I’m blessed to work with a great team that also doubles as my friends. Okechukwu Favour is our Head of Operations. During every production, he says he’s going to block me right after, but he never gets around to blocking me, and I know he never will. He’s also a phenomenal actor. One of my best.
Obanijesu Akinbobola is our people/culture manager. She’s a great actor too. Oba is a firehouse. I think her parents intentionally named her Oba (King) because they saw the future. Nobody does a better people management job than Oba.
Chelsea Amadi is our costume designer. She doesn’t act, but we like to call her ‘Chelo do all’, because she really does a thousand other things. She’s our head of media and our 24/7 BTS videographer. There’s an in-house joke where she calls herself my bouncer. She follows me to every TV interview and every meeting. Everywhere. I don’t know what I would do without Chelsea.
With these three people, and a host of others, we bring Sabi Arts to life. It’s been one hell of a journey but we’re still here. Words can’t capture my gratitude. Last year I had an interview with the lagos fringe team where I was telling them about my team members. I said anywhere you see them, hug them and give them dollars. But now, please add Pounds to the dollars you’re giving them.
You have staged work in both Nigeria and the UK, how do audiences in different cultural contexts respond to your plays and does that ever influence how you write or direct?
Ibi Kontein: It doesn’t influence how I write. It does influence my directing minimally, but not the story itself. Not the script. That’s the soul of the play.
With different audiences, there’s a difference, albeit a slight one, in contextual understanding. Innuendos, actions, quirks, or sayings that resonate with a Nigerian audience may fly over the heads of a UK audience. And vice versa. So, I make adjustments in the directing to suit the audience.
However, the stories themselves don’t change. The experiences I write about are universal experiences. In Nigeria, women are called “ashewo”. In the UK, you’re called a slut or a hoe. Same problem, different continents.
Responses on both continents have been the same. Because at the end of the day, people have an experience that they relate to – a story that sits with them.
What are your aspirations for Sabi Arts?
Ibi Kontein: We’ve come so far. I know we still have a long way to go, but I can’t help but look back with gratitude. By the end of the month (May 2025), we’ll be in Peckham to stage Dear Applicant at the Peckham Fringe Festival. By August, we’ll hopefully be at the Edinburgh Festival too. In August, I want us to do an Abuja run of Back For Ground.
