For theatre enthusiasts, it’s a swell Easter holiday, as Eko Hotels & Suites partners FirstBank to premiere The Jewel, a ground breaking musical showcase that’s bound to redefine Nigerian theatre.
In fact, with the highly anticipated show, Eko Hotels Convention Center will be transformed into a futuristic Broadway spectacle on Friday, April 18 and Saturday, April 19, 2025; with producers emphasizing that tickets are rapidly selling for this limited engagement.
Inspired by Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel and Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again, The Jewel promises to deliver a mesmerizing blend of traditional Nigerian literary classics, reimagined through innovative staging and contemporary musical arrangements.
Theatre critics have already labeled the production as “jaw-dropping” and a genuine attempt to redefine Broadway excellence on African soil. Audiences can expect to be immersed in a world of wonder through cutting-edge production design, choreography, and musical direction.
Over the years, Eko Hotels has served as a prestigious venue for significant shows, including performances by some of Nigeria’s A-list artists and acclaimed theatre production outfits. Also, FirstBank, through its First@arts programme, continues to provide support for the creative industry. It has sponsored and promoted numerous musical and theatrical performances. The bank recently launched an entertainment channel, Bluu TV.
Speaking on Wednesday at a press conference to unveil The Jewel, the General Manager, Eko Hotels, Danny Kioupouroglou, declared that both Eko Hotels and FirstBank have a lot in common in terms of providing first-class entertainment.
“FirstBank is here to support the hotel as a business. They are here to support the theatre performance, the musicians and the technicians, and to develop an ecosystem that becomes bigger, more robust, and more economically viable,” he noted.
On her part, the Executive Director, Sales and Marketing, Eko Hotels and Suites, Iyadunni Gbadebo, said: “The Jewel is a play. It’s a Broadway-style musical theatre show inspired by two renowned playwrights and their works, The Lion and the Jewel and Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again (Wole Soyinka and Ola Rotimi). These plays have a strong moral and social part to them. And for us, the beauty, the richness and the global appreciation of African theatre must not be completely lost.
“Theatre is not only a transformative art form; it is a potent economic engine waiting to be fully explored in Nigeria. Eko Hotels and Suites will continue to invent and re-invent, giving our current and prospective audiences more reasons to enjoy art in a different form.”
Also speaking at the press conference, the Acting Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, FirstBank, Olayinka Ijabiyi, stated that the financial institution’s support for the creative industry runs the entire value chain, beyond the visible players to the backend production, and that the bank is taking a long-term view of its partnership with Eko Hotels.
“From music to entertainment, stage performances to poem performances and everything in between, FirstBank has always supported,” he affirmed.
Corroborating Ijabiyi, FirstBank’s Head of Sponsorships, Partnerships, Events & Collaborations, Chinwe Bode-Akinwande, said that the bank, through its sponsorship of the arts, is providing needed support to the sector and meeting the banking needs of the stakeholders.
“With FirstBank supporting the initiative of art, it means a whole lot of people, even those in the backstage that you do not see have something to do, and have reasons to wake up everyday to continue to pursue their passion,” she emphasized.