SARO The Musical Set To Storm The World!

Everyone is talking about Saro The Musical, a stage play conceived, written and produced by Mrs. Bolanle Austen-Peters; it is designed to serve as a response to the recent trend of Nigerian corporate organisations and the affluent importing theatrical packages from abroad without giving necessary encouragement or assistance to local talents to flower.

SARO… Will Change Our Theatre Landscape Significantly, says Kenneth Uphopho, Director (Drama)

"Some musicals that have come out of this country used dance as an accompaniment but in Saro, dance is an instrument of communication, telling that part of the story for that purpose -- not just going to be there for the aesthetics; it is going to tell a story."-- Kenneth Uphopho, Director (Drama) for SARO

Who is Kenneth Uphopho ?
My name is Kenneth Uphopho. I am an actor, a dancer, a theatre producer and director. I am an alumnus of the Lagos State University, Department of Theatre and Music.  I am the Creative Director of the Performing Arts Workshops and Studios (PAWS), an independent theatre outfit based here in Lagos. I have directed over 40 productions for my company and other independent producers. I have also been a part of over 100 stage productions as an actor, dancer, and as a stage manager. I have also co-produced some festivals and directed them. I am the current Artistic Director for the Lagos State Theatre Festival organized by the British Council for 2014; an ongoing project and I am also one of the Directors in SARO.

What aspect of Saro are you directing?
I am in charge of characterization and drama in the play. The play is a musical that brings together different elements of theatre: music, drama, dance, pantomime and mime, etc. So, I am in charge of seeing that other artistic qualities from the actors are carried out effectively in the general production. I am in charge of characterization and the framework of the play.

Brilliant Story, Fantastic Cast, Terrific Production Team, SARO!! More Pictures From SARO Rehearsals

As the third week goes by,The drama and musical cast did an outstanding job with this composition.

‘SARO… is a liberating experience for me… for the people of Africa’ - Makinde Adeniran, Executive Director, SARO

‘SARO… is a liberating experience for me… for the people of Africa’ - Makinde Adeniran, Executive Director, SARO

"For the theatre practitioners, it is about learning, like I said, we learn new things. So it is about learning, all of us learning a new way to do certain things.  Because, that is the vision of the project; if possible stop our money bags from going abroad to bring entertainment into the country. There are people who can do it here.  All we have not been able to do is to act.  We keep talking and talking and not doing but the opportunity has been provided now by Terra-Kulture to do."--Makinde Adeniran, Executive artistic director for SARO

May we meet you sir?
My Name is Makinde Adeniran.

You are the Artistic Director, who wrote the play?
I am the Executive Artistic Director. I have other directors working with me -- Kenneth Uphopho, Gbenga Yusuf (dance), Ayo Ajayi (music). I have some consultants too. I have personnel who are young, vibrant and they are pushing the force to make this a reality. We have our Executive Producer, Bolanle Austen-Peters, who equally is the MD of Terra Kulture. She created the piece, the story.

In recent years, you seemed to have taken a break from the Theatre to work in the Media Industry…

Yeah, Media industry… that was a stint. True, in the media industry, we tried to do our best as you know; you know how that story ends. That was the bit I could do in the media. My forte has always been the theatre and that is what I am trained for and I have spent going to 25 years of my life doing. So, the terrain for me is the one that is inseparable from my personality; so it is like my comfort zone.