By Okechukwu Uwaezuoke
ThisDay on Sunday, Sept 15, 2013
Call it a musical in the tradition of Broadway. Saro, as
the musical is called, was conceived after a Broadway musical based on the life
and times of the Nigerian-born Afrobeat icon Fela and was performed before a
Lagos audience.
Bolanle Austen-Peters – better known as the amazon
behind the Victoria Island-based cultural centre, Terra Kulture – thought it
was odd that the production, titled Fela! featured no Nigerian actor or dancer
when it was staged at the Eko Hotel and Suites.
“I woke up one day and wrote the story, which I believe
is very relevant to our society and our youths,” she recalled. “I looked around
me and asked: What is the story of an average Nigerian? What is the story of
the average settlers of Lagos?”
Lagos became a melting-pot of non-indigenous people.
“Most of us came here, just like many went to America, saluted as the land of
freedom; and that is what I decided to explore. If you look around, everybody
wants to come to Lagos.
