She stormed out of the rehearsal two days before the show.
She was angry cos the director had brought in another person to sing.
He said she could not sing, and she was aghast, packed her things and stormed off
She was playing lead, and her stance would have put the whole production in shambles
But I liked her action. The fiery temper, the decision not to be humiliated, although misplaced and the power to walk away from it all and missing out on the glory.
I went after her. Dragged her into a coffee shop and said buy me a sandwich
She was incredulous. Here she was in a fit, and this person was asking me to buy her a sandwich
That was the beginning of a friendship and a partnership
As we progressed, she saw how I was being taken to the cleaners and kept shouting
After it all, I said, ‘Let’s do my next play together.’ I’ll give u all the freedom you need, and I am sure u can make this happen
Kashimawo is Tayo, I swear. She has given her sweat to this thing
I have watched from the sideline to see her run to her job as a lawyer, run for rehearsals, run around for props, accommodate and feed the cast, cook for them, shout at me, cry to me, use her money and much more importantly, hold down costs
We got almost everything free, including a rehearsal venue. She built a multicultural cast, including people from Uganda and Cuba and in all of these, she is still playing a significant role in the play
Her small inexperience played up as she left negotiations for set, sound, nd light very late, and those ones came for our jugular
Edgar, I have a problem she said on the phone. I was in a tube just coming back from meeting Jerry, the brain behind the coffee table book
Edgar set is asking for £11,000 – N20m. At that moment, the train went underground, and I lost signal
Our budget was £3,000, and now this?
Never panic over a production. Sky will never fall, las las, I will say sorry to everybody and cancel the show
Once I got signal, I went straight to action mode, my investment banking head taking over
I am trained to make hard decisions, and I take them without thinking
Called my technical team for a quick session and formed a plan B
Cancel set. No set. Put up a screen and let the images tell the stories
Tayo was not part of the meeting, as I had also cancelled her. I gave the team 24 hours to ignite while still waiting to hear from Tayo
Once I was sure the team with Biodun Abe could deliver my plan B, I went back to relax mode
The sound guy also came up with his own , and I took the same drastic action – sack him, use house mics after the show,I will come up and apologise and promise a better show
Then Tayo called – Edgar, I am making calls, can you give me till 11.45am
I said No problem. This one no know say I don move on.
11.45am, she called again. Edgar, I am getting quotes. Give me some more time
I called my crisis team and asked for reassurance, and they gave me
Then Tayo did something that made me almost cry – let me quote her
Hello Joseph
Sorry, I was on a call with Jonathan, the builder. Please, Joseph, we CANNOT lose this guy. I am putting pressure on him to give you feedback. He nearly lost it and said he was trying to help us, and we should be patient. Please wait a little bit more and trust me. I will complete this stage and do it at the lowest cost. Jonathan said he will call us back. Please, I beg of you, exercise a little patience. Please. I will provide feedback to all of you shortly
This got me. Her passion, her confidence, her plea for the opportunity to deal.
Unlike most people, who would have given up and just moved on in tears, she jumped into it like a mother hen fighting for the life of her chicks.
I immediately called the team and disbanded plan B and said no matter what, Tayo comes up with, we will run with her
She delivered the set within budget, got two beautiful sets to choose from and even delivered on sound within budget
Tayo is the hero of this gig, and no matter what comes out of the show this weekend, Tayo is the hero
Please remember that she gave her all for this, and she will undoubtedly get her accolade for being such a heroine
Kashimawo is showing on 4th and 5th October at the Shaw Theatre in London
Get your tickets at shaw-theatre.com or call me on 2349095325791
Ask someone to join u
Thanks
Duke of Shomolu