Owobo Ogunde Set to Join the Cast of Love in Lagos
Aníkúlápó star returns to his theatrical roots in a bold African reimagining of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
Celebrated Nigerian actor Owobo Ogunde, popularly recognised by many audiences for his compelling portrayal in the acclaimed Aníkúlápó series, is set to join the cast of Love in Lagos, an ambitious theatrical production that gives William Shakespeare’s timeless Romeo and Juliet a distinctly African identity.
The production promises to bring together Shakespearean storytelling and the sights, sounds, traditions and cultural energy of Lagos, creating a theatrical experience that connects a classic global story with the richness of Nigerian culture.
For Owobo Ogunde, Love in Lagos is more than another addition to his growing acting portfolio. The production represents a return to the stage and to the theatrical environment in which his acting journey first began.
A Return to His Theatrical Roots
Owobo Ogunde began his acting journey on stage at a very young age, making theatre an important part of his creative foundation. While his profile has continued to grow through his work on screen, his return to live performance offers an opportunity to reconnect with the immediacy and energy that define theatre.
Unlike film and television, where performances are captured and edited before reaching an audience, live theatre demands a unique connection between actor and audience. Every performance unfolds in real time, making stage work a particularly demanding and rewarding form of storytelling.
For an actor with deep theatrical roots, Love in Lagos provides a fitting platform to showcase that experience while introducing his work to audiences across the United Kingdom.
Carrying a Legendary Theatrical Legacy
Owobo is also a member of the Ogunde family, one of the most significant names in the history of Nigerian theatre.
The Ogunde family legacy is closely associated with the development and popularisation of Nigerian theatre, particularly through the pioneering work of the legendary Hubert Ogunde. His contributions helped shape the foundations of modern Nigerian theatre and established a tradition in which drama, music, dance and cultural storytelling could come together as a powerful form of entertainment and social expression.
Growing up within such a distinguished theatrical lineage gives Owobo a unique relationship with performance. His involvement in Love in Lagos therefore brings together family heritage, personal experience and contemporary storytelling.
While his surname carries a celebrated theatrical history, Owobo has continued to establish his own identity as an actor, building a body of work that spans stage and screen.
Shakespeare Reimagined Through Lagos
Set in 1960s Lagos, Love in Lagos takes the central themes of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and places them within an African cultural setting.
The original Shakespearean story has endured for centuries because of its exploration of universal human experiences — love, family expectations, loyalty, conflict, social divisions and the consequences of choices made under pressure.
Love in Lagos brings those themes into a setting that is culturally familiar to African audiences while offering international audiences a fresh perspective on one of the world’s best-known love stories.
By moving the story to Lagos in the 1960s, the production creates space for the audience to experience the atmosphere of a changing city while exploring the traditions, relationships and social dynamics that shape the characters.
A Celebration of African Storytelling
The production goes beyond simply relocating Shakespeare’s story.
Love in Lagos incorporates African storytelling, live music, fashion, dance and culture, creating a production designed to engage the audience through multiple forms of artistic expression.
The combination of theatre, music and movement reflects the richness of African performance traditions, where storytelling has historically extended beyond spoken dialogue to include rhythm, song, dance, costume and visual expression.
This approach gives Love in Lagos its own identity while maintaining the emotional foundation of Shakespeare’s original story.
The result is expected to be a vibrant theatrical experience that explores what happens when a familiar classic is viewed through the cultural lens of Lagos.
Love, Family, Loyalty and Conflict
At the centre of the production is the enduring question of what happens when love comes into conflict with family, tradition and loyalty.
These themes remain relevant across generations and cultures. By placing them within the social and cultural landscape of 1960s Lagos, Love in Lagos creates an opportunity to examine familiar human experiences from a distinctly African perspective.
The production promises to explore the tensions that can arise between personal desires and family expectations, as well as the consequences of division and conflict.
With live music, movement and cultural elements woven into the storytelling, audiences can expect a production that is both emotionally driven and visually engaging.
Owobo Ogunde Live on Stage
For audiences familiar with Owobo Ogunde primarily through his screen performances, Love in Lagos offers a chance to see the actor in a different environment.
Live theatre requires performers to command the stage, communicate directly with an audience and sustain the emotional intensity of a story from beginning to end.
Owobo’s return to theatre is therefore particularly significant given his early connection to stage performance and his family’s longstanding contribution to Nigerian theatre.
It also provides an opportunity for audiences in the UK to experience the actor’s performance in an intimate and immediate theatrical setting.
As the Yoruba expression goes, “Abínibí yàtọ̀ sí ability” — heritage is different from ability. In Owobo’s case, Love in Lagos brings both his theatrical heritage and his individual talent to the stage.
Love in Lagos UK Tour
The production will travel across three UK cities in October 2026, giving audiences in Coventry, Manchester and London the opportunity to experience the African reimagining.
Coventry
3 October 2026
Manchester
4 October 2026
London
10 October 2026
The UK tour is expected to provide an opportunity for Nigerian, African and wider theatre audiences to experience a production that brings together Shakespearean drama and the cultural character of Lagos.
For members of the Nigerian and African diaspora, the production may also offer a particularly familiar cultural connection, combining an internationally recognised story with African settings, sounds, traditions and creative expression.
Shakespeare Meets Lagos
The meeting of Shakespeare and Lagos creates an intriguing theatrical combination.
Romeo and Juliet has been adapted and reinterpreted in numerous cultures around the world, and Love in Lagos places the story within one of Africa’s most culturally dynamic cities.
Through its setting, music, fashion, dance and storytelling, the production presents an opportunity to explore how a centuries-old story can take on a new identity when placed within a different cultural environment.
For Owobo Ogunde, the production adds another chapter to an acting journey that began on stage and has since expanded to screen.
For audiences, it offers the opportunity to experience a familiar story in a new setting and see a member of one of Nigeria’s most recognised theatrical families return to live performance.
This October, Shakespeare meets Lagos — and an iconic story of love, family and conflict finds a new African rhythm.
Press Enquiries, Interviews and Ticket Information
For press enquiries, interview requests and additional information, please contact BOPR.
London Tickets:
Eventbrite – Love in Lagos London Tickets
With its combination of Shakespearean drama, African storytelling, live performance and the cultural energy of 1960s Lagos, Love in Lagos is set to bring a distinctive theatrical experience to UK audiences this October.
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