by SK Johnson

On the 25th, 26th and 27th of this month, the Grand Ballroom of Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island will play home to a fantastic and novel initiative in Nigerian theatre. SARO The Musical, is, as the name suggests, a musical theatre production and we are as excited as any for it to take place. Here are 7 reasons why:

1. It’s a stage play

This most basic fact already has our interest as we are, admittedly, a bit partial to theatre productions. Much has been said of the growth of the music industry and Nollywood but  many a time theatre productions in Nigeria go by without causing much of a splash despite all the hard work and creativity that goes into putting them together.

2. It’s a musical

We already love stage plays, but throw music into the mix and we’re sold. Musical theatre isn’t exactly the most common of occurrences in Nigeria, but we’re hoping this is the beginning of something of a change taking place.

3. The story

We don’t know many details about the story yet but the official description pegs it as “the story of four young men who – determined to break from the yoke of frustration and lack of opportunities to explore their talents and realize their dreams – decided to embark on a journey to the land of opportunities….LAGOS.” While that doesn’t reveal much, the portrayal of young men in a search for opportunities in a city such as Lagos is sure to be compelling storytelling.

4. It looks good already

Behind-the-scenes photos from rehearsals don’t reveal much but point to a colourful and rich display of culture.

5. It’s produced by Bolanle Austen-Peters

Produced and created, actually. Bolanle Austen-Peters is the creator and Managing Director of Terra Kulture and has long been an important contributor to the growth of the Nigerian arts scene. Now that she’s ready to push her creative side even more, we can’t imagine the product will be anything less than excellent.