Mr. Macaroni: Skits is a new form of theatre we have adapted | The Guardian Nigeria News

Adebowale Adedayo, popularly known as Mr. Macaroni, is comic skit maker, actor and activist. An indigene of Ogun State, Adedayo was born in Ogudu, Lagos. He grew up in Magodo area of Lagos and attended Tendercare International Nursery and Primary School in Ojota. Macaroni proceeded to the Babcock University High School for his secondary education and later, the Redeemer’s University, Osun State where he obtained a degree in Theatre Arts and Film Studies in 2018. He is best known for his Instagram comedy videos, where he plays the role of a ‘sugar daddy’ and famously known for the phrases of Ooin and You are doing well. In this interview with IJEOMA THOMAS-ODIA, he shares his passion for creating comedy skits.

Tell us about the Mr. Macaroni brand. We all know the children’s rhyme; did you get the inspiration from there?
Funny how it is, it was that name too that made me start calling myself that. I was on set once for one of our sitcoms titled Face2Face and I was playing the role of an extra, nobody knew me then. The director at the time liked the way I interpreted the role, he called me and told me to give myself a name. So I just said Mr. Macaroni and since then, I just decided to stick to the name.

How has it been as a skit maker/actor and how have you evolved?
It hasn’t really been much of an evolution; I think it’s much more adaptive, because I’ve always been an actor and a performer before I took content creation seriously. I adapted to content creation and it’s been good. For me, this is performance; theatre and drama, but it’s a function of understanding that there’s a new era, a digital era. People are always on their phones, so you’re looking at what’s going on, and how to infuse what’s going on into your content. And then you’re creating content that a lot of people have access to watch. It’s quite different from the movie sets, or a film going to the cinemas or Netflix. So for me, it’s all theatre. It’s just a function of adapting to each of the types of theatre.

What informed the characters you put up in your skits?
It was our society. Society provides the basic raw materials for every artist to provide their art. I don’t know about others but at least from my side, society influences me. I’m influenced by what I see, hear and the happenings around me. So trust me, when I create content, I’m creating them because I’ve seen it happen somewhere, or from a figment of my imagination mixed with a bit of what I read somewhere. So it’s basically influenced by happenings around me.

What’s your take on the growth of skit making in Nigeria?
Content creation has come a long way because everyone who has access to their phones would go online, and because there’s so much pressure on people already from the stress of Nigeria and other things. When they are scrolling, they just want to see something that will ease their pressure and stress. So it has really come a long way, and you can tell from the growth of these content creators. They get millions of followers across all platforms– Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and all of that. People now see it as a new form of theatre. I’m not saying that we are running away from cinemas, but it is also a new form of theatre that we have adapted to.

Did you ever see yourself attaining this height, making skits?
By virtue of my personal conviction, I’ve always known that by God’s grace I would attain the height that I have always set to attain and beyond. I’ve always said I will be successful, no doubt; it was just a matter of knowing the time when it will come. So if you had asked me three years ago if I knew I would be successful now, I would have said no. Yes, maybe in the future, but not now. So I’m grateful for the progress and the growth. What I was just trying to do was to adapt to reality and acknowledge that people know me now. I work in that light, knowing that people love me and appreciate what I do.

What is your fashion style?
My style is basically anything that makes me comfortable. Sometimes when going to important events, I have to think of what to wear. If it were left for me, I would wear shorts. So anything that makes me comfortable is my style.

What’s Mr. Macaroni’s favourite local food?
I enjoy Gbegiri, Amala, Ogufe with very soft ponmo. With these, I am good to go.

What are your hobbies and interests?
I love playing table tennis and video games as well.

If you’re given an opportunity to change something in Nigeria, what would that be?
The things to change about Nigeria are very plenty, but first will be to create an enabling environment for everyone. Irrespective of background, family influence or where you’re from, you should be able to survive. I see Nigeria as a track, and in this track, everyone wants to run a race but the track is very bad. If you’re not careful, you can fall. Then, there are people who are already in front of the starting line. These people have boots, canvass, and other things that can make them comfortable running the race. And then, there are some people who were born into poverty and can’t afford any of these things and they all have to run on the track, no matter what.

The environment is not enabling, and it’s not a level playing ground for everyone. I would want a system that encourages everyone to be able to succeed, a better system for us all. Right now, there is too much greed and corruption that have eaten very deep into our system and we need to get rid of that.