Glitter and Glamour at the premiere of "The Love List" stage play by Fred Kalulanga featuring Hellen Lukoma.
Have you ever felt so hard-pressed in your relationship that you just want to give up? Well, they say that Art reflects reality as reality reflects Art! The latest Theatre Play “The Love List” featuring celebrated legend, Helen Lukoma, and international star, Fred Kalulanga is a dramatization of an everyday couple's struggles told from a rich NewYork suburban relationship’s perspective.
The play, which was written by Sweden-based Fred about a decade back, has been performed for audiences worldwide and has received positive remarks in pretty much every theatre it steps into.
In Uganda, the show kicked off with a grand premiere at the home of arts, the Uganda National Culture Centre. The invite-only evening was attended in the hundreds and saw an overwhelming number of A-listers from across the entertainment industry of the nation. But what's a Premiere without some Glam? Red Carpet, Paparazzi, and even a drink and popcorn on the house to go with, the guests were treated to the best of what the iconic duo had to offer!
At exactly 30 minutes past the stroke of 7 pm, guests were ushered into the enthralling embrace of the Theatre Hall. As one stepped out of the flashy lights of cameras on the red carpet and into the dark hallways of the relic building, you could almost feel the tension of anticipation slithering across your skin.
One by one, each attendant made their way to their seat and geared up for what would end up being the experience of a lifetime. The bell rang, the curtains were drawn and the night kicked off officially!
Hellen stood there, glowing as ever, washed entirely into her new role as Jennifer and Fred next to her stared at her in amazement! One could hardly tell if it was because he was her husband in the drama or because he was equally taken away by how natural she was in her role. Fred, of course, having written and performed the play himself a couple of times, needed no time to immerse himself into the role of Jack.
The two spared no expense, emotionally, professionally, and financially to give the audience a performance of a lifetime. With 90 minutes on the clock to make an impression, you could tell that it was more about the art than it was about anything else for the two brilliant talents. You could tell the audience was charmed by the way they cheered, jeered, and heckled at anything they agreed with or disagreed with in the way the two were handling their relationship.
Laughter was no rarity as the dramatically tense play was laced with moments of sheer comedy and irony! But neither were the groans and mummers of disgruntlement whenever the couple did something that the audience found counterintuitive to the relationship. All of which was a testament to how invested everyone watching was in the play.
Even with the occasional short break for both the Audience and actors, the mood was retained and the narrative was unhinged! When the final act was done and performers took a bow, the entire theatre was moved to their feet in ululation and acclamation! It was undeniable that Fred and Helen had left a mark! A positive one and one that would usher in the rest of the days of showing in the theatre.
With the first day being a complete success, it can be expected that the good word is being spread all across the regions of the country and people will be flooding in for a taste every weekend of the month to catch the play for only 50,000 Ugandan Shillings: a price fully deserved for the product of consumption.
Written by Cinema UG.