‘Wakaa The Musical’ Goes To London

Bolanle Austen-Peters “Wakaa The Musical” would be staged in London’s West End in July, making it the first Nigerian Musical to make it to the British Capital.

It was no small deed to land a slot in London’s world-class theater district, but the sell-out musical by Terra Kulture has pedigree, playing to 10,000 people over twelve shows in Lagos earlier this year.

“The show was so popular during its first stint, people were offering to pay to stand in the aisles”, according to Austen-Peters.

Austen-Peters sees the escalating genre of Nigerian musicals as an opportunity, and says that central to her motivation is that “we’re creating lots of jobs … something I’ve always wanted to do.” Previously outsourced cottage industries such as costume designing are now being done in-house, as well as training for technical roles.

“We can rival any of the big institutions in the world,” she argues. “I believe we can do exactly what is being done in England and America.”