Celebs ‘swerves’ stage Productions —Abeiku Sagoe

VETERAN actor, Abeiku Sagoe, has expressed disappointment in the current crop of actors saying they do not seem to like stage productions.

According to him, today’s actors shy away from stage productions and rather seem comfortable with shooting movies.

“Anytime there is a stage production and we invite some of our celebrities to take part, they shy away from such productions, some of them take the scripts and never come back,” he said

“Some of us the old ones started from the stage then TV before videos and that gave us the discipline.

“Today, people just jump into videos, I call it ‘cut filming’. With stage, you have to learn your lines and go for rehearsals to get it right and you are expected to deliver on the production day.

“Attempts to get some of these so called celebs to come to the stage have been very difficult; during Ghana @50 celebrations, we made an attempt to get some of them to do the stage play but it didn’t work.

“It is same story with my upcoming production, A Woman’s Instinct scheduled to be staged on September 1 at Elmina,” Abeiku Sagoe added.

Abeiku Sagoe is of the conviction that the celebs find stage productions difficult unlike the screens where they can cut and do a retake if they miss their lines.

“I think it is because they find it very difficult to learn their lines as well as the discipline that comes with stage productions where you have to be committed and punctual. I think that is why Ebo Whyte decided to go for unsung actors because with them, there is the will to deliver.”

He however singled out actress Martha Ankomah as an exception who has always been willing to do stage productions.

Showbiz contacted Van Vicker, one of the actors Abeiku Sagoe said took a script and never got back to him. Van Vicker however said he could not remember anything of that sort.

“I really don’t remember but for me, I won’t say I shy away from the stage. Just last June, I put together a stage production, After The Rain at the National Theatre and the only reason I did not act in it was because I produced and directed it so there was no time for me to act.

“I love stage acting and I will do it any day as long as the timing is right and the money is good. In 2013, I acted in nine shows over two weekends in Nigeria and it was great, I would do it over and over again,” he stressed.

Van added that he will involve mainstream actors in his next stage production next year, “maybe they haven’t been given the opportunity but I am not disputing what Abeiku Sagoe is saying though,” he added.

Credit: graphic showbiz