It is clear that with the drying up of government support in the industry, it must begin to reposition itself to attract private corporate funding if it is to reach its full potential.
In doing so, the industry must, as a matter of compulsion, adopt structures and ethos that align with business practices to attract much-needed funds.
Over the last 10 years, corporate funds have flowed into the sector, enhancing wages, infrastructure, audience engagement, and production quality.
Now more than ever, we are witnessing a multitude of productions, creating opportunities and deepening engagements in the field.
However, compared to the flows in the music and film industries, theatre receives only a pittance.
While music has gained mainstream global attention, leading to platforms that generate inflows, theatre is still in its infancy.
Films are also performing reasonably well, with figures now exceeding the $8 billion mark when combined with music.
Currently, fashion is the largest magnet with an estimated market size of $10 billion, prompting speculation about what drives these numbers.
Notably, 40% of productions in Nollywood now rely on what I would call emotional capital. Producers, mostly female, leverage emotional relationships to attract capital, evident in the proliferation of female-driven YouTube channels and similar platforms.
Theatre, however, faces inherent limitations; its audience is finite and requires physical presence to experience its essence fully.
Attempts to expand distribution bring it into direct competition with films, where competition is fierce.
This limitation in reach and capacity significantly hampers capital inflows.
The financials do not add up: as production budgets rise due to macroeconomic issues and underhanded tactics by some practitioners, revenues remain flat due to the finite number of seats available.
One might suggest extending the number of days, but this too comes with costs that must be averaged out.
It is worth noting that in Nigeria today, only BAP Productions have the capacity for extended runs, with their longest being 10 days so far.
Others struggle to sustain a weekend run; at DOS, our longest has been 4 weekends, almost bankrupting us in the process.
Ticket sales have stabilized, showing no significant increase.
Current ticket variations—bulk purchases, discounts, reward systems—barely deviate from an average of N5,000 for regular seats and around N20,000 for VIP.
This indicates that theatre, out of the total industry valuation of over N3 trillion, receives less than 2% of that budget.
Theatre remains primarily Lagos-based, with minimal presence elsewhere such as Yibo Koko in Port Harcourt and sporadic shows in Abuja; the rest are largely school productions at tertiary and secondary levels, contributing little commercially and offering no real impact on the industry beyond producing quality human resources that it cannot absorb due to producer-level limitations.
What can be done to increase theatre’s share of this enormous industry valuation?
All stakeholders must collaborate to achieve clear and distinct objectives.
Strategies must address infrastructure, training, development, international collaboration, and most importantly, discipline and control.
Discipline and control are crucial because capital is flighty and averse to misappropriation and corruption.
It will not flow unless there is assurance it won’t be misused.
It is no longer sufficient to deliver a good production; adherence to corporate governance standards must be ingrained in the system—here, NANTAP plays a crucial role.
NANTAP is arguably the most significant structure in this new era of theatre.
Over the years, it has struggled to regulate, engage, and protect the industry, often gaining government attention and representation in key policy-making initiatives commendable achievements.
However, dynamics have shifted alongside capital flows: now, 80% of funding comes from the private sector, altering engagement rules.
Today, reporting transparency, collective decision-making, and return on investment are paramount.
These must be established to sustain theatre funding.
In an industry where 70% of independent producers have a story to tell post-production, this trend does not bode well, especially as government support wanes.
NANTAP, if not already doing so, must urgently strengthen its training and development arm, bringing top corporate minds to teach risk, control, fund, and project management—essential skills for practitioners to understand capital and its stakeholders better.
Additionally, it must bolster its mediation capacity to instill confidence; parties should trust its ability to resolve issues effectively.
Access to professional mediation advisory—comprising accountants, corporate governance experts, practitioners, and lawyers—will ensure outcomes are widely accepted.
Lastly, NANTAP must enhance its disciplinary and enforcement capabilities, ensuring respected outcomes translate into enforced actions.
This marks an era of industry self-regulation, crucial for expanding market share in this golden age of entertainment.
I remain confident in NANTAP’s ability to lead this industry revival and position it as a vital player in national development.
Thanks
