Nigeria Hosts Africa’s First ‘Improvisational, Playback Theatre Festival’ In Abuja

Nigeria will host Africa’s first-ever joint global festival for “Improvisational and Playback Theatre” practitioners in Abuja. The organisers are already set to welcome performers, educators, humanitarian workers and storytellers from across the world for the week-long cultural gathering in June 2026.

In a statement by the organisers yesterday, the International Improvisational and Playback Theatre Festival, tagged #MeetInNigeria, is scheduled to hold in Abuja, bringing together participants from North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa.

The festival is being organised by Access to Creative Play Foundation and The Ensemble Improv Theatre.

Speaking on the significance of the event, Festival Director and Chief Executive Officer of the foundation, Oluwadamilola Abdulai-Apotieri, said, “The event marks the first time both global Improvisational and Playback theatre communities will converge on the African continent for a combined festival focused on performance, training, cultural exchange, and social impact.”

He also described the festival as a platform for expanding creative opportunities and social transformation through storytelling. He said the initiative was designed not only as a performance festival but also as a movement to increase access, visibility, and the use of interactive theatre, Theatremunity development and emotional healing.

Participants are expected from countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, Greece, South Africa, Australia, Peru, the Philippines, Sweden, Indonesia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Czechia, and Nigeria.

Organisers said the festival is expected to attract about 200 registered participants and over 1,000 audience members during the seven-day programme, adding that their work since 2015 has included humanitarian and psychosocial support interventions in conflict-affected communities across Borno State, Adamawa State, Yobe State, and Benue State, particularly among displaced and vulnerable populations.

Improvisational Theatre Theatres unscripted live performances in which actors create scenes, dialogue, music, and movement spontaneously, often based on audience suggestions. Playback Theatre, founded in 1975 and now practised in more than 70 countries, allows audience members to share personal stories that are immediately reenacted on stage by performers.