First Bank of Nigeria Limited has announced its sponsorship of ‘A Deep Dive Into History’, a theatre production from the Duke of Shomolu (DOS) Production House, spearheaded by Joseph Edgar. A deep dive into history comprises two exciting stage plays – AREMU and AWO, showing from August 22 and running every Sunday till September 12, 2021 at the legendary Glover Memorial Hall, Marina, Lagos.

AREMU is a powerful depiction of the life and times of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR. The play takes viewers through his birth, the errant stages of his adulthood, exploring his peasant background, his travails as a freedom and human rights crusader and other milestones. AREMU is a rich cultural play that preaches hope to the audience, that they can be whoever they want to be. The play was written by Prof. Ahmed Yerima, the former DG of the National theatre and National Troupe.

AWO, on the other hand, is a play that seeks to reintroduce the dying values of loyalty, integrity, vision building amongst others to the modern-day audience who seem to have lost their way in the fast and seedy lifestyle of modern-day Nigeria. This play is set to be directed by Mr. Makinde Adeniran FTA, Lagos State Chairman of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Practitioners, and is bringing 26 years of local and international experience to the play.

With the sponsorship of similar socio-cultural plays in the creative arts industry such as “Ayinla”, “Moremi”, “Makaliki”, Duke of Shomolu Production’s Play (“Emotan” and “Oba Esugbayi”), October 1st (a movie) and the Calabar Festival, FirstBank’s sponsorship of ‘Duke of Shomolu Productions’ affirms the bank’s continued support for the development of arts in Nigeria under its First@arts initiative.

First@arts is FirstBank’s platform for consolidating all its efforts in the arts, supporting the entire value chain of the creative arts, providing much-needed financing and advisory support, showcasing and facilitating the successes of the industry, and enabling customers to explore and access the wealth of opportunities the creative industry has to offer.

Achieving these and a host of many others have been implemented through strategic partnerships with organisations like the British Council, Live Theatre Lagos, Freedom Park, Terra Kulture, and the Cross Rivers State Government (Calabar Festival), among others.

Expressing her delight on the plays, Folake Ani-Mumuney, GH, Marketing & Corporate Communications, First Bank of Nigeria Limited said: “For over 127 years, FirstBank has been at the forefront of nation-building; enabling Nigeria and Nigerians through resourceful partnerships to build the Nigerian creative industry value chain, especially the arts and entertainment sub-sectors. We remain proud of this sponsorship that creates an excellent platform to showcase Nigeria to the world as being part of a collective goal to continually keep dreams and hope alive; holding strong to our commitment to reignite cultural heritage.

“Without a doubt, the theatre remains part of the creative and entertainment industry value-chain across the globe and indeed a powerful channel to drive our heritage and culture, which resonates with our legacy of being woven into the fabric of society.”

The Duke of Shomolu Productions is a positive disruptive force that has been designed to aggressively push the agenda of “telling stories through performances”. In the last three years, the platform has engineered and fostered on Nigerian theatre audiences, some of the most eponymous works attracting over 50,000 people, attending their productions. The DOS production is a leading brand in the Performing Arts sector in Nigeria and was established in 2018.

According to research disclosed in PWC’s recent Entertainment & Media Outlook report, Nigeria’s entertainment market is expected to rise from $4.46 billion in 2018 to a $10.5 billion market by the end of 2023. In addition, with this initiative and other sponsored events, FirstBank is committed to strengthening its contribution to the development of the entertainment industry in the country.

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