There is something profoundly tragic about discovering beauty only after it has disappeared. Some moments refuse to return. A song can be replayed. A photograph can be revisited. A video can be watched a thousand times. But theatre… Theatre lives only once.
It breathes. It laughs. It trembles. It cries. And then, with one final bow, it disappears forever. For the past few weekends, something extraordinary has happened inside Eko Hotels & Suites. Children forgot their screens. Parents remembered wonder. Friends laughed until strangers became companions.
Complete strangers stood to applaud people they had never met simply because, for two beautiful hours, they believed together. That is the quiet miracle of live theatre. And today… The curtain falls. PRIDELAND 3 takes its final bow at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
If you have been saying, “I’ll come next weekend,” there isn’t one. This is it. This season ends today. If you have never watched world-class musical theatre performed by extraordinarily gifted African talent, today is your opportunity to correct that. Because the greatest regret is rarely the money we spent.
It is almost always the memories we never gave ourselves permission to create. As this remarkable season comes to an end, my heart is full. To FirstBank, thank you. In a world where sponsorship is often measured only by visibility, you chose significance. By standing behind these productions, you did far more than support a show. You invested in imagination. You invested in children discovering dreams.
You invested in artists whose gifts deserve stages worthy of their brilliance. You invested in the belief that culture is not entertainment alone—it is education, identity, economy and legacy. Thank you for choosing to stand with the creative and performing arts. May more corporate institutions discover that when you invest in creativity, you are investing in the future of a nation.
To Eko Hotels & Suites…The Owners and visionary leadership of Mr Danny Kioupouroglou and Mr Ghassan Faddoul. For fifty remarkable years, you have refused to be defined merely by rooms and restaurants. You have consistently built stages where Africa introduces herself to the world. Stages where musicians become legends. Where actors become stars. Where dancers become storytellers. Where children discover possibilities. Where families create memories that outlive photographs.
For half a century, you have quietly proven that hospitality is not simply where people sleep. It is where people feel. It is where culture comes alive. It is where unforgettable memories find a home. What an honour it is to help tell that story.
To my phenomenal co-directors, Ice Nweke and Annie Ukeme… Thank you for believing that excellence is worth every rehearsal, every rewrite, every late night, every difficult conversation and every impossible deadline.
Great productions are never accidents. They are built by people who care long after everyone else has gone home. Thank you for caring. To every actor… Every singer… Every dancer… Every musician… Every choreographer… Every costume designer… Every technician… Every stagehand… Every makeup artist… Every member of the crew whose name may never appear in lights… You are the heartbeat behind the applause.
The audience sees magic. We know it is built by discipline. By sacrifice. By blistered feet. By tired voices. By countless rehearsals. By choosing excellence again and again when nobody is watching. Take your bow. You have earned it.
And finally… To every single member of our audience. Thank you. Thank you for buying a ticket. Thank you for clapping. Thank you for laughing. Thank you for crying. Thank you for bringing your children. Thank you for believing that live theatre still matters. Without you… There is no standing ovation.
There is no curtain call. There is no story. There is only an empty stage. So if you are reading this before 3:00 p.m. or before 7:00 p.m. today… Do yourself one favour. Come. Not because we need another seat filled. But because life is made richer by moments like these.
Years from now, nobody will remember another afternoon scrolling through a phone. But you will remember where you were when the lights dimmed… The orchestra began… The curtain rose… And Africa reminded you that imagination is still one of her greatest exports. We’ll be waiting. One last time.
Dr. Iyadunni Gbadebo DIG
