New Year: Fun-seekers express disappointment at National Arts Theatre

Some fun-seekers at the National Arts Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos State, on Friday expressed their disappointments for not having enough entertainment facilities there.

Some of them told our reporter in Lagos that what they saw was far below their expectations during a universal festivity like New Year day.

A fun-seeker, Mrs Bisola Adams, a hair dresser, said she was disappointed that the theatre was deserted and its management did not allow the operators of horse riders and other fun to enter the theatre.

“With such facilities within the theatre, we should have been able to catch some fun at least with horse-riding,“ Adams, a hair dresser said.

A welder, Mr Ibrahim Alamu, said he missed the presence of the artists adding that they usually catch fun seeing the artists around the cinema environment.

He, however, urged the Federal Government to assist in reviving the National Arts Theatre to what it used to be in the past.

Then, everyone would come there and had fun during any festive period, he said

Also, a film producer, Mr Wale Oderinde, told National Daily that the management of the National Arts Theatre had allegedly refused film makers to show their films there.

Oderinde said that the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, was at the theatre on Monday and he said that he might allow film producers to continue showing their films at the theatre.

“I decided to display one of my films at National Arts Gallery inside the theatre because most of our customers that normally patronise us, blamed us for not displaying films at the theatre in January 2015.

“I do not want the National Theatre to be dead like the Cultural Centre at Ibadan, that is why I decided to bring this film show titled `Okiti Ogan’ for people around the theatre,“ Oderinde said.

He said that he would be paying the owner of the gallery 30 per cent of the proceeds adding the gallery could accommodate 100 guests with each guest paying N500 to watch the film.

Oderinde said that the film would be showed three times daily, adding that it would extend to the weekend.(