Bolanle Austen-Peters at the press briefing for Queen Moremi the musical
Bolanle Austen-Peters Production (BAP) and House of Oduduwa are collaborating to tell an authentic African story of the heroine of the Yoruba race, Queen Moremi in a musical set for December.
As familiar as the title may sound, not a lot of people know the story of Moremi, the courageous woman who shaped our history and ethnic diplomacy.
From December 21, 2018 to January 2, 2019, Terra Arena will resonate with music and dance as stage lights intersect in sheer display of artistry.
The plot is hemmed on the fabric of the legend of Moremi, the daughter to one of Ife’s hunter-warriors, Lukugba and Princess Olunbe of Offa. She stood up for the oppressed and made a huge personal sacrifice for the sake of humanity.
While fielding questions from the press at a recent briefing to announce the musical, Bolanle Austen-Peters said the performances may be stretched depending on popular demand.
Last year, BAP took on a daunting task in researching about the women behind the music of the Afrobeat musician and pan-Africanist to produce “Fela and the Kalakuta Queens.”
This year, BAP seems to be towing the feminist line with yet another story that explores the role of women in changing history with Queen Moremi the Musical.
“l am a woman. I believe in equal rights,” said the lawyer and cultural entrepreneur, Austen-Peters. “We have more than enough folklores to generate enough content from”.
Princess Ronke Ademiluyi, the face of the House of Oduduwa at the briefing remarked that the story shows the strength of a woman.
“We should remember her for the good deeds that she did. We should tell our African story,” she said.
Starring Kehinde Bankole, Femi Branch, Deyemi Okanlawon, Bimbo Manuel, Lala Akindoju, Bambam of Big Brother Nigeria, this musical is arguably set to be the longest-running theatre production of the year.
Interestingly too, this is the first time that BAP productions will be staging a non-contemporary show which will predictably elicit rave reviews from the critical audience.
The opening night has as special guest, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi.
With ‘Don’t get bad, get even’ movie, Nigerian-British actor Wale Ojo has joined the league of movie producers in Nigeria.
Shot in Cotonou, Benin Republic, the movie stars Femi Jacobs, Deyemi Okanlanwon, Kenneth Okolie, Toyin Abrahams, Patience Ozonkwor, Jide Kosoko, Nancy Isieme, Ayo Adesanya, Saheed Balogun, Jumoke George and a host of others.
“Don´t get mad, get even” is an intriguing romantic comedy that is extremely hilarious and entertaining and will surely cheer you up even in difficult or stressful situations,” says the Executive Producer, Raphael Dedenuola.
The film tells the story of Jaiye and Juwon Kuti, two brothers whose relationship becomes estranged when the younger brother Juwon drops out of school to pursue a music career. Eventually, Jaiye, owing to economic downturn, moves into his younger brother’s house, who is a successful music producer. The comedy revolves around their conflicting lifestyles as the brothers are complete opposites with little or nothing in common. It is a production of RGD Media Productions, based in Germany, Nigeria and the Republic of Benin.
Ojo, who started acting as a child, took to the stage as a very young Othello in the east-end of London in his late teens. He is well known for his role as Bayo in the comedy television soap Meet the Adebanjos (2012-2014), which won a Nigeria Lite Entertainment Award in 2006 and an AMVCA nomination in 2015.
His feature film debut was in the movie Rage (1999) in which he played a schizophrenic gangster and a cameo in Guy Ritchie’s first short film The Hard Case (1995). Since then he has appeared in feature films Johnny English Reborn (2011) and The Guard (2011). He has appeared in the popular television BBC series Grange Hill and the Heartburn Hotel.