By InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Nigeria’s tier one lender, First bank of Nigeria Limited said on Tuesday it’s maintaining its partnership with the British Council on the 2016 Lagos Theatre Festival.
The Bank in a statement said that for three (3) years, the British Council has been working on a theatre programme to stimulate innovation in theatre practice in Nigeria.
It said the council sought to offer opportunities for professional exchange between Nigerian and British theatre makers which gave birth to the introduction of the Lagos Theatre Festival in 2012.
“This year, Lagos Theatre Festival returns bigger and better than ever as part of UK/Nigeria 2015 –16; a major season of arts in Nigeria aimed at building new audiences, creating new collaborations and strengthening relationships between the UK and Nigeria. First Bank of Nigeria Limited is a major promoter of the British Council Lagos Theatre Festival 2016 as part of its First@arts initiative,” the lender said.
It affirmed that in preparing for the UK/Nigeria 2015–16 season of Arts, the British Council desired to engage New Voices in Theatre and requested the submission of scripts for the Lagos Theatre Festival from emerging playwrights who were asked to reflect the experiences of young people living in Lagos today. “A record number of 64 applications were received over a four (4) week period and four (4) plays were shortlisted by a panel of writers for a creative writing workshop and script development. The plays are: Every Single Day by Olubunmi Familoni, The Wait by Bode Asiyanbi, Barcode Dialogue by Atinuke Aweda and Dialing Love by Paul Ugbede. The winning playwrights have been awarded a cash prize of #100,000 each with an option of producing their plays at the Lagos Theatre Festival scheduled for February 23 – 28 2016,” the Bank disclosed.
FirstBank says as a prime promoter of the creative arts industry in Nigeria, it’s supporting the arts under the auspices of the First@arts initiative which is driven by the quest to promote the arts and preserve cultural heritage. “Through First@arts, FirstBank has encouraged home-grown human capacity development and enhanced the creation of employment opportunities within the arts industry, thereby creating a sustainable value chain and contributing to the growth and development of an evolving art economy in Nigeria,” the statement added.
FirstBank says it’s pleased to support the Lagos Theatre Festival even as it promotes new talents in the creative arts industry. “FirstBank believes that promoting the arts and preserving contemporary culture is essential for our generation and the future generations,” it noted.
The Lagos Theatre Festival 2016 will take place at several venues on Lagos Island and the mainland with a curated programme running alongside a fringe strand of affiliated performances allowing a greater than ever number of artists and audiences to take part. Tickets are available from February 1 at Naija ticket shop, Dealdey.com and TerraKulture.
Shares of FBN Holdings Plc parent company of FirstBank at the close of Tuesday’s trading on the Nigerian bourse climbed up 1.11 percent to N3.63 per share from N3.59 per share traded the previous session.
