In his latest holiday production, ‘The Love Story’ actor, playwright and founder, Rivers of Water (ROW) Productions, Mr Patrick Otoro explores the theme of love, and the consequences and responsibilities of the choices we make in the name of love.
The 45 minutes mini-musical play featuring Francis Duru, Nanyah, with a cameo appearance by Richard Mofe Damijo (Damijo) was scripted to match the season (Valentine), actors and characters personalities.
‘The Love Story’ speaks of the struggles young people go through to determine their life partners, the consequences of the choices they make, while asking the usual questions people ask regarding love – what are you looking for in a relationship?
“It speaks to the peculiarity in relationships and choices in life, why we make the choices we make and being responsible for those choices,” said Otoro.
The choice of a mini-musical play compared to ROW’s other seasonal productions that runs from an hour to two hours, Otoro said, is to keep the evening light, whilst presenting a fusion of events – play, music and comedy to keep the audience engaged.
Hence, the presence of Styl Plus, which will host a mini concert of sorts for the night, at Transcorp Hilton, Congress Hall, and RMD who will make a brief appearance in the play. Actor Francis Duru, who has been a popular fixture in a handful of ROW Productions recent theatrical works, plays a lead character.
“You won’t be far from the truth if you call him (Duru) an in-house actor for ROW Productions. Duru is first and foremost a trained stage actor. What we are building in ROW is a culture of quality of theatre and quality actors.
He has that knack for professionalism. He has been very supportive in this whole project and it is exciting to have an actor of his caliber always feature in our play.”
With Styl Plus, Otoro said, “Their songs fit into the show and the Valentine season. Their kind of music resonates well with Abuja residents.”
In keeping with ROW Productions’ mission, Otoro hopes audience members leave the event entertained and enlightened.
“We want our audience to know that while it is good to mark a day once a year to deliberately focus on love, everyday is Valentine’s Day. We should celebrate love and love people every day. Love is reaching out to people, showing concern for others, loving your neighbours, friends and colleagues. These are part of what makes our world a better place,” concluded Otoro.
