With 12 shows in the basket and 12 more to come, the Olu Jacobs and Joke Silva-produced musical, Heartbeat: A New Beginning is setting a new Nigerian stage record.
This was revealed at a recent press briefing with the cast and crew in attendance.
While acknowledging the challenges that came with producing the critically acclaimed show, producer Joke Silva explained, ‘Even though we are setting a new record, in the global scheme of things, 24 shows isn’t really a big deal.
‘We have shows like the Lion King that have continued to run for decades. We are challenging ourselves with this production and it is my ultimate goal that Heartbeat runs for another 20 years,’ she added.
For lead actor Femi Jacobs, his character in Heartbeat has given him the biggest emotional connection in his career so far.
‘While listening to the sheer magnificence that was put into this show, I suddenly started to cry backstage the other day,’ he revealed.
Femi added that, ‘This has been an incredibly humbling and uplifting experience for me working with this team.’
Director Najite Dede said how proud she was of how far the play has come: ‘Assembling the incredible team we have now was honestly the hardest part of the job. We are very proud of the team we have put together and the way we tell the story of the cosmopolitanism of Lagos!’
Writer and composer Tosin Otudeko revealed that the labour of love that was Heartbeat was conceptualised 12 years ago after which she pulled music producer Efosa Lawal in.
She further revealed the meaning behind the show: ‘Heartbeat is basically a description of the time God gives us here on earth and how we must use it because it’s very limited. Once our heartbeat stops, that’s the end of our life as we know it.’
Heartbeat is anchored on Grace House, a well-known shelter for the homeless. Grace House finds itself in the middle of a battle between warring forces within their local government area while preparing for their 25th year anniversary.
Caught between personal and political conflicts, the residents (each with their own share of secrets, fears and flaws) must come together to save the only place they can truly call their own.
Heartbeat explores the themes of: love, hate, betrayal, family, identity, politics, homelessness and social justice through the characters who converge in and around Grace House in search of refuge and atonement.
The play is about Lagos, the heartbeat of Nigeria. It’s about relationships, the Heartbeat of love, and it’s about hope, the Heartbeat of life.
It is produced by Olu Jacobs and Joke Silva’s Lufodo Productions, directed by Najite Dede, written by Tosin Otudeko and Debo Oluwatuminu, with music done by Tosin Otudeko and Efosa Lawal.
This post first appeared on TNS.
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