The director and founder of Kessavier Vanille Productions, Kesiena Obue, has decried the seeming neglect of the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, by relevant stakeholders as an Heritage Neglect.

She told Saturday Beats that though the theatre provided a platform for many great Nigerian thespians to launch their careers, not many people paid attention to it any more.

She said, “Several great thespians cut their teeth in the profession at the National Theatre. It is a national heritage that we should always cherish. If you take a look at many seasoned actors, you will realise that they started their careers on stage. I think we need to place emphasis on stage acting because it is more intense and rounded than any other form of acting.”

Obue noted that it was her love for the National Theatre that informed her decision to stage her next play, ‘Hertitude’ at the venue.

Speaking on the concept of the play slated for the Yuletide season, she stated, “It is a smooth, simmering homage around three young Nigerian female professionals and sisters forced into an uncomfortable reunion by the death of their mother. They come to play and ever so gingerly navigate the contours of their maturing lives under the glare of social media, Lagos ‘fakery’ and glitz with a nasty underbelly.

While juggling scheming socialites, name dropping wannabes, fickle celebrities and egomaniac obsessions, can these sisters still manage to get it together? It is a rib-cracking, sensuous and delicious piece of dramatic adventure. It is a fun but serious play which promises a five-course meal of beauty, music, dance, technical pizzazz and real drama, while examining the past and challenging our view of the future.

Some of the performers in the play are Martha Orhiere, Jessica Gabriels, Maryann Ivy, Njoku Cynthia, among others.”

Recall that Obue has worked on several other successful plays including ‘The Bling Lagosians’, ‘Moremi the Musical’, ‘Fela and the Kalakuta Queens’, ‘Wakaa the Musical’ and Femi Osofisan’s ‘A Nightingale for Dr Du Bois’, among others

Punch