Mayen Etim our ED Finance reached out this afternoon – Fashola money don come?
She has been worried cos funding has not been flowing at the speed we are used to
Joe, wetin we go do? She asks in that sweet voice and I said – we keep pushing
I am now a veteran in this game and nothing shakes me
We lost N32m in Zik and it took me over 6 months to get over that debt
You also all know that we lost N50m on our first missionary journey to London so seeing a 40% gap in the budget doesn’t shake me
What shakes me is the massive talent and sacrifice that our work unleashes on the system
We decided to focus on women this time. We identified six of the most brilliant theatre academics all with PhDs, with three of them full professors, for our 2026 women in theatre series.
We have tagged it Powerfully Unapologetic as we remain very Unapologetic as to not only our commitment to theatre excellence but also our commitment to women in theatre
So we are starting with two very sweet plays – Dora which tells the story of Dora Akunyili the Amazon who fought fake drug merchants to a standstill
Dora is being directed by a very brilliant academic and thespian
Dr Ogundeji is of the Obafemi Awolowo University where she has done some very brilliant work.
She is an award winner and has taken on Dora with the energy of a mermaid
Kokoro is the one who tackles the life of the itinerant blind drummer who serenaded us with his beautiful voice
For Kokoro, we got Dr Adumati and brought her in from Adekunle Ajasin University in Ondo State
The other day, I watched her during rehearsals and marvelled at her flow and dexterity
As the budget keeps growing, Mrs Etim keeps getting a headache
She will call me at night, Joe, we don’t cross N65m ooo, I will say Mayen mbok make I sleep
She will call again, Joe, we don hit N70m and Go soon cross am and na only N40m we don see
I will smile and say – las las we go run na abi u no get visa
This time, we have ramped up the media budget by 300% building three teams who are attacking the market digitally
We have left off the billboards and are putting our faith on Social Media and our database of 5 000
We have 2,400 seats to sell over 4 days and that should not be a problem
Unlike our competitors, we are a wholesale brand as we don’t do well at the box office but get wholesale ticket buyers who do bulk purchases
We however want to use Kokoro and Dora to change this as we believe that we should play very strongly in the N10, 000 per ticket market hence our investment in media and strategy.
We have also pulled in giants like William Benson, Yinka Davies and regular Yemi Shodimu all these impacting the budget and giving Mrs Etim more headaches
We have also ramped up artists’ fees by over 20% and 40%. Instrumentalists have hit a 100% increment and last December we did a 20-40% increment in staff salaries across the board
All these at a time when the economy is tightening and sponsors are pulling back and ticket purchases are sliding across the sector
Demand for complimentary tickets has shot up by 35% for us and even though we are witnessing more footfalls, it doesn’t show in revenues
We however remain resolute in continuing to tell these stories in the remarkable way we have always been doing despite the challenges
Our key sponsors like FBN, Anchor, and Unified Payments are standing with us
New entrants like 9PsB bank, Rex Insurance have made us quite excited while old reliables like EKEDC and VFD have ramped up their support by 400% and 300% respectively with The Place Restaurants maintaining a brilliant stability
By the close of this year, we plan to ramp up our yearly spend on plays by 60% both locally and internationally maintaining our market leadership even as I personally plan my gradual withdrawal from it all
Yes, we are building structures that would run without my stifling influence as I continue to lose interest in theatre while refocusing my energy in other areas.
How do you support us?
Rush to Whatadeal.events and buy a ticket and be part of this beautiful story that is unfolding and save my sister from headaches – she just born.
Thanks
Duke of Shomolu
Last modified: March 19, 2026
