“Kilon Sparkles!”: Kate Henshaw, Linda Ejiofor & Gideon Okeke Lead London Life, Lagos Living’s Stage Return

“Kilon Sparkles!”

If you remember those words, then there is a good chance Bobo Omotayo’s London Life, Lagos Living needs very little introduction.

Fifteen years after the cult favourite first hit shelves, the beloved story is heading back to the stage for the third time, and this time, it is bringing quite the cast along with it.

For a generation of readers who came of age on BellaNaija and followed Lagos pop culture before social media became the all-consuming force it is today, Bobo Omotayo, writing under his popular nom de plume, The Renaissance Man, was a familiar voice. His weekly column, The Friday Track, had readers coming back for his sharp observations, cheeky commentary and often hilarious takes on the people, places and peculiarities that made Lagos what it was.

Then came London Life, Lagos Living, a story that turned many of those familiar observations into a world of its own.

At its heart was the peculiar dance between London and Lagos life: the IJGB returning home, the social climbing, the status games, the relationships, the parties, the tables to be seen at and all the little contradictions that came with trying to find your place between two worlds. It was familiar, funny and just pointed enough to make readers wonder if they knew some of the characters themselves.

Now, that world is coming alive on stage once again.

The latest production brings together an exciting mix of Nollywood favourites and fresh faces, with Kate Henshaw, Linda Ejiofor, Gideon Okeke, Chigurl, Olarotimi Fakunle and Tosin Adeyemi leading the cast, alongside more actors who will join them for the production.

And because this is London Life, Lagos Living, expect the story to bring all the familiar ingredients back into the room: Lagos society, culture clashes, relationships, ambition and the endless comedy that can come from trying to navigate life between home and abroad.

The stage production will take place at Black Diamond Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos, with shows scheduled for Friday, 28 August at 7PM; Saturday, 29 August at 4PM and 7PM; and Sunday, 30 August at 4PM and 7PM.

Fifteen years later, London Life, Lagos Living is getting another chance to remind audiences why “Kilon Sparkles” became such a memorable phrase in the first place.

Whether you remember the book, the characters or simply the era it captured so well, Lagos is about to revisit a story that knows its way around both sides of the Atlantic.