Odule marks 40 years on stage
Ace actor, Prince Bamidele Odule is set to mark his 40th anniversary as a theatre arts practitioner wit the stage production of Ojukeleku which he says will cost about N100 million.
Speaking at a press conference to kick-start the anniversary, Odule said the production of the stage play would be made opened for new cast in the industry, with the auditioning expected to have started in Ibadan, Oyo State.
He said thereafter the cast and crew would storm the location in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, where the production of Ojukeleku will hold for about 30 days before it premieres, in June, to commemorate the annulment of the 1992 presidential election, acclaimed to have been won by late Chief M.K.O Abiola.
He said it was his intention to revive stage play drama “as a means of commercial empowerment though the schools and streets and bring back the lost memories. Our youth can then have a direct opportunity to choose a career in the arts through this form of motivation.”
Odule remarked that in the last 40 years in the industry, he has dedicated his entire life “to the preservation and projection of the rich cultural heritage of our dear country, through stage performances, movies and other related fora,” noting that, there have been challenges but he was encouraged by rewards of handiwork and the tremendous goodwill from all and sundry.
He said the stage play “is a social satire which is intended to be staged in all the south-west states and Kwara, primarily as a command performance to the government of each state and later as a public show to the populace.
“To this effect, I have assembled a team of professional artistes both from the academia and the traveling theatre practice, to make this a good and entertaining venture. The combination of these two groups will definitely bring about the originality in Nigerian theatre.”
He added that the cost included using the modern lightening and costumes in the global theatre world, adding that, “barring any last minute reorganization, the play is expected to hit the stage for its first command performance in Abeokuta, to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the annulment of the freest and fairest election in Nigeria. The date also coincides with the date of the first staging of commercial theater in Nigeria by the late Hubert Ogunde in 1944.