EDINBURGH 2023: NOVA Q&A

BWW catches up with Obehi Janice to chat about bringing Nova to the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
 

Tell us a bit about Nova.

A Nigerian-American standup comedian moves us through her romantic and sexual entanglements – her “archive of lovers” — the same way noted provocateur Giacomo Casanova did, but better. It’s extremely funny, it’s sexy. Nova explores desire, pussy and power with cunning, humour and charm. I think the form at the top will feel familiar to festival goers, but what we’re doing is a little different – a little more surprising and interesting.

Why did you want to tell this story?

I came across Casanova’s memoir years ago through museum exhibitions, books and even screen adaptations starring Heath Ledger and David Tennant. I thought it was a term we used to talk about suave men. I didn’t know it was based on a real person. I didn’t know he garnered all of this respect.

When I pulled back the layers of his legacy, I was annoyed. How did he become such a big deal when he was really just a menace to society? To answer that question, I decided to put myself at the centre and excavate my own relationship to his style of seduction, if you will.

I wanted to create a character and persona that is larger-than-life and takes up a lot of space. I intentionally repurposed Casanova’s name to hold my conflicting feelings: awe, envy and frustration. But Nova, unlike the real-life Casanova, actually shines. She doesn’t scam people with abandon. She’s powerful in her sexuality, not manipulative. She’s saucy, not rude. Her mere presence is iconic. She didn’t have to write a 3500 page memoir to be deemed a genius.

Tell us a bit about the creative team involved.

This creative team feels grounded in my friendships and growing community. It’s not a coincidence that everyone is women and femme-identified. It is absolutely on purpose that half of the team share my experience of being a dark-skinned Black woman.

Caitlin Sullivan (direction) and I began developing Nova two years ago through residencies, trading voice memos and jumping on Zoom. Nissy Aya (dramaturgy) and Isabella Byrd (lighting) are two of my favourite artists on this planet. Bringing them into the process was a no-brainer. I’ve admired Kathy Ruvuna (sound), Eleanor Kahn (set) and Ari Fulton's (costume) work from afar and it just felt right to bring them on.

Bringing Nova to Edinburgh was always the goal. Now that the Lyceum is hosting and co-producing with Pemberley Productions, we have an abundance of riches. It’s going to be a powerful world premiere.

Who would you like to come and see it?

I want dark-skinned Black women to know that my work puts them at the centre first. But I know that everyone can enjoy and appreciate Nova.

What would you like audiences to take away from it?

That it’s more than okay to destroy long-standing cultural idols and have a great time doing it. Putting myself back at the centre of history doesn’t have to be heavy. It can also be fun and sexy. To me, that is freedom.

Photo credit: Hannah Caprara 

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