JOKE SILVA AND OLU JACOB'S MUSICAL SETS NEW NIGERIAN STAGE RECORD

With 12 shows in the basket and 12 more to come, the Olu Jacobs and Joke Silva-produced musical, Heartbeat: A New Beginning is setting a new Nigerian stage record.

While acknowledging the challenges that came with producing the critically acclaimed show, producer Joke Silva explained, ‘Even though we are setting a new record, in the global scheme of things, 24 shows isn’t really a big deal.

‘We have shows like the Lion King that have continued to run for decades. We are challenging ourselves with this production and it is my ultimate goal that Heartbeat runs for another 20 years,’ she added.

For lead actor Femi Jacobs, his character in Heartbeat has given him the biggest emotional connection in his career so far.

‘While listening to the sheer magnificence that was put into this show, I suddenly started to cry backstage the other day,’ he revealed.

Femi added that, ‘This has been an incredibly humbling and uplifting experience for me working with this team.’

Director Najite Dede said how proud she was of how far the play has come: ‘Assembling the incredible team we have now was honestly the hardest part of the job. We are very proud of the team we have put together and the way we tell the story of the cosmopolitanism of Lagos!’

Heartbeat the Musical press conference

Writer and composer Tosin Otudeko revealed that the labour of love that was Heartbeat was conceptualised 12 years ago after which she pulled music producer Efosa Lawal in.

She further revealed the meaning behind the show: ‘Heartbeat is basically a description of the time God gives us here on earth and how we must use it because it’s very limited. Once our heartbeat stops, that’s the end of our life as we know it.’
Another photo after the cut.......