Some roles are simply acted. Others, like Esther, become lived experiences. For nearly a decade, Bola Stephen Atitebi has embodied the fierce and fragile core of Esther’s Revenge, a searing play that dives into silence, survival, and generational healing.
As the production continues its UK tour through Scarborough, Leeds, and Bristol, Bola opens up about the weight, evolution, and emotional toll of portraying Esther. In this intimate Q&A, she takes us behind the scenes of a character who has not only changed audiences but transformed the woman who plays her.
Q1: You have embodied Esther across multiple performances. How has your personal connection to her story evolved over time?
Bola Stephen Atitebi: It’s been almost a decade now, and honestly, Esther’s story has become as much a part of me as I am of it. My connection to her has grown deeper with every performance. Each time I step into her world, I discover something new, not just about her, but about myself too.
At first, I saw her as just another character to play, but she has become like a mirror, revealing layers of pain, strength, and resilience that I didn’t even have words for back then. We have taken this story to different countries, and I have watched as it touches people everywhere. That just makes me feel even more responsible for telling it right. It’s not just work anymore, it’s personal.
Esther has shown me the raw power in being vulnerable, the quiet heroism of just surviving, and why it’s so important to face the truths we bury. Playing ‘Esther’ has unlocked parts of myself that I had forgotten about, pushed down, or didn’t even know needed healing. There are these eerie similarities between her trauma and things I have experienced, memories I thought I’d buried forever come flooding back. But instead of running away, I face them with grace and strength now, because Esther reminds me I am not alone in this. Through her, I have learned that storytelling can be both a way to cast out demons and a way to heal.
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“Through her, I’ve learned that storytelling can be both a way to cast out demons and a way to heal.”
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Q2: Esther is a symbol of silence breaking and generational healing. What does it mean to carry the weight of that narrative as a Nigerian woman on international stages?
Bola Stephen Atitebi: Taking Esther’s story to international stages feels like both a privilege and a huge responsibility, and I don’t take that lightly. As a Nigerian woman, I know all too well about the silences we grow up with. There’s this unspoken rule that you endure quietly, hide your pain to protect family, tradition, or reputation. Esther breaks that silence wide open, and in doing that, she speaks for so many women who have never had a voice.
When I perform her story on an international stage, I challenge the stereotypes people have and show them that Nigerian women’s stories aren’t all the same; they are complex, painful, beautiful, and full of resilience. With every show, I feel like I am holding up a mirror for women who see themselves, their families, or friends in Esther, inviting them to start or continue their own healing journey.
That’s a sacred responsibility, and it demands complete honesty, vulnerability, and care. That’s why I put everything into it, emotionally, physically, spiritually.
Before each show, I actually check in with Esther’s emotional state, and I ask her how she’s feeling that day. Depending on what comes up, I talk it through with the director, and we figure out how to build on or channel that energy for the performance. If it doesn’t serve the story, I go back to Esther’s emotions and work through them until I find balance. Sometimes I get angry on her behalf, and it’s like she guides me through those feelings.
I need complete silence for about an hour before the show, just sitting alone in the space. Long before I step on stage, I mentally step away from being Bola Stephen and let everything around me fade as I fully enter Esther’s world. I talk to her, listen to her, sometimes even argue with her. But we always meet in the middle, with the truth.
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“Before each show, I ask Esther how she’s feeling.”
Q3: Audiences often say Esther’s story stays with them long after the curtain falls. What moment in the play still gives you chills every time?
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Bola Stephen Atitebi: Absolutely! The story sticks with people long after the ‘Experience’. I have had complete strangers stop me on Lagos streets, shouting “Esther!” because they remembered the show from years back. I have had people hold me in the tightest hugs for ten minutes after a performance, whisper “thank you” in my ear, or just break down and cry in my arms. It’s in those moments that the whole performance transforms; it’s not about me or even Esther anymore, but about the audience and their own release, their own healing process.
The moment that still gives me chills every single time is when Esther says, “I gave myself to Mark at the back of his truck in front of my father’s house.” That line is the heart of her breakdown, the moment where her pain becomes impossible to ignore. It’s not just dialogue; it’s like a scream from the deepest part of her soul. It represents the shattering of everything she was raised to believe as a Nigerian woman, modesty, dignity, self-control, and the moment she gives it all up, for love, but ending in something much more complicated and damaging.
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“I gave myself to Mark at the back of his truck in front of my father’s house.”
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Every time I deliver that line, it hits differently. Sometimes I feel her shame, sometimes her anger, sometimes just this empty numbness. But it always lands hard. And it always reminds me what’s at stake, not just in Esther’s story, but in all the untold stories of women just like her.
Don’t Miss the Experience of Esther’s Revenge
Esther’s Revenge, written and directed by Kenneth Uphopho, is currently touring across Scarborough, Leeds, and Bristol.
If you have ever carried pain in silence, this play is your mirror.
Let the silence break. Let the healing begin.
Grab your tickets now
About the Writer
Ayoola Adesewa is a storyteller and digital creative passionate about using art and media to spark dialogue and drive impact. As the Digital Communications Lead at Lagos Fringe, she curates vibrant narratives that spotlight artists and deepen community connections. A playwright and founder of Pick A Pen Tribe, Ayoola’s work explores identity, mental health, and social transformation through words that resonate on and off the stage.