The X Theatre Company led by Leke Gbolade is an alternative theatre and technical support company committed to the actualization and realization on stage and off stage of multimedia texts. Although the predominant medium is mime/movement, the company fuses in its unique style other performance media such as dance, music, song, film and design from the avant-garde
Objectives
•Promoting cultural relevance in our dramatic content and performances
•Realizing a modern Nigerian context for interactive theatre
•Deploying a viable professional model for sustainable and regular performance-based entertainment
•Fusing personal & creative idealism and professional principles into practice
ABOUT
Leke Gbolade
Artistic Director
Leke Gbolade is the principal consultant at X Theatre Company (formerly Black-soul Performance Company) an alternative theatre and technical support company specializing in commercially viable theatre practice.
Leke has been a producer, director and technical director for over fifteen years. Working as technical consultant on the West African Idol road show project by 2wice as nice in 2008, Producer/ Creative Director for the Empty Space Theatre Project™ a site specific theatre project since inception August 2012
He has the singular credit of producing the only experimentation of Samuel Beckett’s Breath for the Nigerian stage (Elements), which he did years ago as a student director in the University of Ibadan.
Leke has over the years deconstructed and experimented Zulu Shofola’S wedlock of the gods Samuel Beckette’s End game, Neville N. Nkoli’s Kayaman, J.P Clark’s Song of a Goat, Olosunde’ Ogunmola, Femi Branch’s PO to Ola Rotimi’s Grip am, Which has toured with over 20 performances in the past six years including an appearance at the British council Lagos Theatre Festival in 2013 where he was one of the three Nigerian theatre producers at the inaugural for the festival.
He also has to his credit absurdist, primitive and minimalist experiments including Bonono, Potopoto hiv/aids performance which was first staged in 2002 and later toured at the COJA games in Abuja 2003, Elements, Matrix, Dracula (Inspired by Lucky Dube’s song), Gaagagoo, Valentina Halim’s Locked down (A film script adapted to stage), The pidgin English / Warri Nativity play2015.
This ex ragga artiste has also worked with various NGO’s, the Vagina monologues and the V Monologues Nigerian Story by KIND in various capacities (Tech Consultant, Producer and Director) since 2006, Girls Talk Back by ACP (Creative, Artistic and technical consultant) since 2009amongst others
Leke also has experience in television content production and has to his credit the pilot shoot for The Yabz Masters oral sports competition presently airing in Nigeria, the Playhouse Reality TV project for stage actors
Leke has as his overall ambition the Deployment of a viable professional model for sustainable and regular popular performance-based commercial entertainment in Nigeria.
To this end he is currently working as a production consultant with clientele cutting across individuals and theatre companies interested in commercially viable theatre productions
He is a Dip/B.A theatre arts graduate from the University of Ibadan, graduating as a directing major in absurdist and alternative theatre/performance practice. He has proficiency in light, set and sound from design to activation.