Veteran actor, Abeiku Sagoe has described theatre as an orphan of the creative industry considering that no attention and support is given to it in the country compared to music and movies.

Abeiku Sagoe believes theatre deserves some attention just like the other sectors of the creative industry.

In a chat with the Graphic Showbiz on Monday, May 30, Mr. Sagoe bemoaned why all the consideration is towards movies and music with no attention at all for theatre.

“Very few people have been left to struggle with theatre and even when you do your best to come out with a production, you are expected to pay at least GHC12,000 a night at the National Theatre to show it."

“I am not saying that people should use the National Theatre for free. Of course, they also need money to run the place but I guess we can come up with something that will be beneficial to both parties," he said.

Citing the Ghana Premier League as a model system that could be adopted, Mr. Sagoe said that football teams don't pay to use the stadium, however, "after the match, they share the gate proceeds, so I wonder why we can’t introduce a similar thing to theatre.“

The actor explained that when a play is staged at the National Theatre, the management and the team who performed can split the gate proceeds.

"But they complain they also need money to pay staff, pay utility bills etc so charging us is the only way they can be operational. Theatre is really suffering, very few people such as Ebo Whyte are surviving with his quarterly plays," he added.

According to Abeiku Sagoe, because of the challenges in the sector, it is difficult to get stars to act in plays so they rely on new actors.

He lamented that sometimes, with new acts when they get movie gigs after appearing in some stage plays, they tend to pursue that area and forget about theatre.

Mr Sagoe urged playwrights to collaborate under one umbrella like MUSIGA for music sector and FIPAG for filmmakers to help them have a united front, especially when seeking solutions to their challenges.

“I also believe the government has a role to play in reviving the sector, I have never heard any Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture mention theatre in their speeches, all they talk about is movies and music. None of them has talked about theatre so evidently, that is not their focus,” he said.

Away from the theatre, Abeiku Sagoe shared his thoughts on the current movie industry.

The veteran noted that the industry is performing well, especially with the new productions that have been released.

"They show them at the Silverbird Cinemas at the Accra and Westhill malls but after a week or two, they have nowhere else to show them. As a result, some producers are forced to take their movies to TV stations after premiering and these TV stations do not pay," he noted.

He, however, suggested that since young people patronise the movies, showing them on campuses could help rake in some money.

“Also, streaming the movies is another option, it seems like it is the way to go now, but we haven’t really understood it very well so that will take time”, he said.

Comparing the current crop of actors to those of his days, Abeiku Sagoe said, “in our time, we learnt a lot, one had to rehearse for a long time before getting the chance to act, but these days, people just jump in front of the camera and it is a little problematic."