Nigerian playwright Ogini Bernard is hosting a play reading of his adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet titled Oga Pikin (Hamlet in Pidgin). The event will be be held on April 5, 6 PM CT, via Zoom or in person at Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

Ogini Bernard is a Nigerian playwright and a researcher. He holds a B.A and M.A in Theatre Art from the University of Ibadan. He is currently the Language Propagation Officer (Pidgin) of the Centre For Digitization of Indigenous African Languages in Africa (CDIAL), an organization aimed at researching, standardizing and providing digital inclusion for Indigenous African Languages. He has also collaborated with various international organizations like UNESCO, Afrika Youth Movement, Institute Of French Research Africa, and others.

A strong advocate of Nigerian Pidgin English, Bernard has translated ten Shakespearean plays, including Hamlet as Oga Pikin, Romeo and Juliet as Rukvwe and Julie, and Macbeth as Makinde-Go-Bet into Pidgin English, and has a pidgin anthology of poems. He is the author of 5 plays in Nigerian Pidgin English and English including Aiguobarehian, Corrupt Di Tailor, and Mama na boy.

Bernard’s play reading will be supported by the National Drama Association of Trinidad and Tobago (NDATT) and will be a part of the the Playwrights Workshop Trinbago (PWT) Monthly Readers Theatre Series. This series is held on the first Wednesday of every month, when a community of artists and arts enthusiasts come together to read and discuss new stage, screen, and radio plays, and give feedback to assist the playwright in the further development of their work.

Date

April 5 at 6 PM CT (US time)

April 6 at 12 AM (UK time)

April 5 at 7 PM (GMT -4 (Trinidad time))

Location

In-person Address: Helen May Johnstone Room, Queen’s Hall, 1-3 St Ann’s Rd, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

Zoom Meeting ID: 894 3958 2396

Go here for more information.

For those of you who are Shakespeare fans, this play reading is right up your alley! We hope you take this opportunity to attend Bernard’s play reading and support the preservation of Nigerian Pidgin English.