The Lagos International Theatre Festival has announced a programme of 20 plays for its main weekend at the MUSON Centre on 14 and 15 November 2026. Nigerian productions will share the event with theatre makers from Kenya, Canada and Brazil.
The festival, founded by director and producer Bolanle Austen-Peters, will use four performance spaces at the Onikan complex. Its published programme lists productions in Shell Hall, Agip Hall, the LITF Stage and La Scala, giving audiences several choices across the two days.
Among the Shell Hall productions are Queen Idia, Grip Am, Ije Awele and A Yibo Koko Experience. Behind Closed Doors, directed by Austen-Peters, also appears in that hall’s programme. Anthony Abolo directs Grip Am, while Courage Oti and Marymartina Okoabu direct Ije Awele.
Agip Hall’s line-up includes Index One, directed by Nice Githinji, and What You Have Become, directed by Lanre Adediwura. Man Up and Monkey Laundry are also listed there. On the LITF Stage, audiences will find Under The Mango Tree, O.L.E and Odoiya.
La Scala’s programme includes African Uninterrupted 2, Amebo Is My Hobby and You Are Special and Other Lies. It also lists tHERapy, directed by Tosin Adeyemi, and Men-Oh-Pause, directed by Elvina Ibru. The festival’s production pages link visitors to the EventPorte ticketing platform.
The international programme includes Canada’s Grand Theatre production Under The Mango Tree. The Nigerian works announced for the festival come from Lagos, Abuja, Enugu and Abeokuta. Professional and independent companies will appear alongside younger performers, with Atlantic Hall, Evergreen College and Children International School among the participating schools announced by organisers.
This year’s theme is “The Masks We Wear”. In the festival announcement reported by Voice of Nigeria, Austen-Peters said theatre offered a way to examine the different roles and identities people assume. The accompanying statement, “The Stage Is Everywhere”, extends that approach beyond a conventional performance space.
A programme of gatherings will precede the main theatre weekend. Theatre Meets Food, hosted by chef and entrepreneur Hilda Baci, is scheduled for 9 November. Embassy Nights will follow on 10 and 11 November, bringing diplomatic representatives, artists and creative-sector figures into the wider cultural programme.
Conversations and Culture is scheduled for 12 November. The announced subjects include mental health and wellness, vocal performance, DJing and copyright. An opening gala is planned for 13 November, before the main performances begin the following day.
Festival director Vanessa Jev said the participating Nigerian and international artists would give audiences opportunities to encounter different cultures and perspectives. The event combines those performances with exchanges between theatre practitioners and a programme that includes emerging talent.
The published running times place Queen Idia at noon and Behind Closed Doors at 7.30pm in Shell Hall. In La Scala, tHERapy is listed for 5pm, followed by Men-Oh-Pause at 6.30pm. Individual booking pages should establish which day a ticket covers.
The main performance dates remain 14 and 15 November at the MUSON Centre. The festival’s official programme provides production and ticket links; visitors should confirm the date and admission conditions for their chosen show before booking.
Image: MUSON Centre entrance, photographed on 18 December 2024 by Beendy234, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Archival venue photograph, cropped for display; not a photograph of the 2026 festival.
