Flashback Friday 📸 ➡️ ~ The Shift 🤯

 Usually, Flashback Fridays are for something interesting that happened within the last seven days, which technically makes this post about a week late—but there’s no way I’m letting this one slide without talking about The Shift.

The Shift is an original play brought to life by a collaboration between my university’s equivalents of a theatre and a dance club, performed during our annual Drama Night. When I first heard about the program, I had my doubts—but a friend convinced me to check it out… and I’m so glad I listened. 🤯

Drama Night happened last Thursday, and let me tell you—it was so good that the entire audience was cheering and shouting in excitement. They laughed, gasped, screamed, and applauded exactly when they were supposed to. It was just that amazing. So far, it’s the best event I’ve attended since getting into this university.

The setup was clean and well-organized, and the play itself was brilliantly executed. Any scenes that couldn’t be performed live on stage were cleverly pre-recorded and played during the performance. For some reason, that gave the entire event more of a movie-night vibe than a traditional stage play—and I loved it.

While it was pretty clear to anyone familiar with the films Brotherhood and Gangs of Lagos that the playwright drew heavy inspiration from both, he still succeeded in creating a story that felt entirely his own. And it wasn’t just the playwright who nailed it—the actors were phenomenal, the costume designer was spot-on, and the cinematographers? Impressive doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Now, here’s the part that absolutely blows my mind: my university doesn’t even have a Faculty of Arts. That means every single person who contributed to this production had no official training, no formal experience, no academic guidance—just pure talent and dedication. And yet, they managed to pull off an absolute masterpiece.

My university is currently investing in establishing a Faculty of Law and a Faculty of Medical Sciences—which makes sense, since those are seen as the most “economically important” career paths in the country. But this Drama Night proved something I’ve believed for a long time: we need a Faculty of Arts too. If students can achieve something this incredible without any formal support, just imagine what they could do with the proper resources, mentorship, and academic opportunities.

And it’s not just about drama. I’ve met students here with massive talent across every art form imaginable, yet there’s no real space in this academic environment to nurture that talent. It's time we stopped overlooking the creative disciplines.

Anyway—before I wrap up—guess what? I got a selfie with the playwright, who also happened to play one of the most iconic characters in the play: The Silencer! 😁

Well, that's it for Flashback Friday 📸 guys! Have a lovely day 👋

P.S. If you have personal comments or anything to say concerning any of the posts, please, feel free to use the comments section. I know some of you may have my personal contacts, but I actually prefer you share your thoughts here. Thanks for understanding. 😁