body-container-line-1

When last did you laugh at Ghana? Now is your time!

By Myjoyonline.com|Malik Abass Daabu
General News When last did you laugh at Ghana? Now is your time!
JAN 31, 2015 LISTEN

It is often said that every nation must learn to laugh at itself.

That is true. But it is obviously asking too much, even risking the wrath of the people when you ask them to laugh when there is only anger requiring expression.

Imagine the barber who went to work and didn't make One Ghana (one cedi), he didn't have his favourite sobolo because the lady selling the drink could not chill it; she had no power.

Now he is back to a dark house and with the support of the torchlight on his yam (phone), he staggers to the tap but it is as dry as the Sahara Desert.

To make matters worse the church around rented single room apartment, (the room was a toilet converted into a residence, now the house has no toilet), is blurring ear jarring prayer, God is good. The loud speaker on the mosque on the other part of town is blaring some Arabic syllables.

All he must be left with is anger to vent.
Amidst this chaos, one man gifted with the rare ability to distill meaning, and hope, and optimism, from the darkest ebbs of our fears has produced one master class of a play that gives us reason to laugh. Yes, laugh.

Uncle Ebo Whyte's “Women on Fire” set in a typical market place in Ghana tells the Ghanaian story to such arcane detail that even the market women will marvel at the level of dexterity of the playwright.

Whilst watching another lesson-laden play by Uncle Ebo, House of Secrets at the National Theatre, the crowd repeatedly broke into rapturous applause and laughter whenever a clip of Women on Fire was played.

We love it when our story is being told by someone else, don't we? Women on fire is my story. It is your story. It is the Ghana story. And we love the beauty with which Uncle Ebo told it in 'Women on Fire'. And we want it told again and again.

By popular demand, the play will be replayed on Sunday, February 1, 2015 at the National Theatre at 4pm and 8pm.

Set in a market place where diplomatic passports are sold, you sure don't want to underestimate the level of errrmmm….what's the word…laughter. This is a play which is rated C. Where C means comedy. And when Roverman says comedy, get ready to fall off your seat.

“The play is being rerun because of the demand, on the 4th of January when we rerun the play, it was the 11 th and 12 th time we were running the play, the number of people we had to turn away because of the limitations of space was heartbreaking – heartbreaking for me as a producer - not because they were going away with the gate fee but because when you think of people who have dressed from home, come all the way to the National Theatre only to be turned away – I couldn't take it so we promised them that we will give them the opportunity to watch it,” said Uncle Ebo.

The writer himself believes that the setting of the play plays a role in its popularity.

“This is a play based on the market, in a market, a typical market place and anybody who has ever passed through a market or has anything to do in the market can identify with it,” he explained.

But there is more; “we also used the market to symbolize the nation and people could recognize what is happening in the nation through what is happening in the market; the humour, we try to make light...so that all of us can laugh over it.”

There is too much heat, in fact so much heat we have become combustible. Go to National Theatre and laugh. It is important to laugh over some of these things because if we don't laugh, the next thing will be violence, Uncle Ebo predicts.

We don't want any violence, so please, spare 60 Ghana cedis and buy a ticket to the National Theatre on Sunday for either the first show at 4pm or 8pm for the second show.

You will not regret you did!

body-container-line