Boston Globe Interview with HEAR WORD! Director, Ifeoma Fafunwa

Producer, director, performer, writer, architect. Over the past two decades, Ifeoma Fafunwa has worn many hats searching for the ideal vehicle with which to marry her art with her deep concerns for the world. Two years ago, she found it with the ambitious, critically acclaimed Nigerian production “Hear Word! Naija Woman Talk True,” which she and a cast of 10 women are bringing to the Harvard Dance Center April 15-17 for its US premiere.

The show, presented by several Harvard University institutions and the American Repertory Theater, combines music, song, and dance with true stories of Nigerian women. It is both a call for change and a celebration of empowerment and transformation. The first half shines a light on some of the cultural, behavioral, and legal inequalities that oppress today’s Nigerian women — from the pressure to be married and harassment in the workplace to the shocking frequency of child brides, female circumcision, and rape. The second half celebrates women who have transcended limitations, breaking the culture of silence, and challenging the status quo. Read the full article here.