Building Society — One Story At A Time

“I am a survivor of rape. This is my story. This is my song. And this is the beginning of my healing,” she blurted without an iota of shame. I looked into the soul of her eyes. They were filled with pain and regret. However, hidden behind the pain was a glimmer of peace.

To her, I was not a mere writer. I was a pot of therapy. I was a stranger, but a story had bound our hearts together. Unintentionally, she had confessed to me what even her parents did not know about. It was not just another musical play she had witnessed. She was not just another theatregoer. She was the product of the healing power of storytelling.

In 2024, Scribe Productions staged Ghana’s first-ever original musical on rape, In The Pants Of A Woman. We set out to tell a story that would normalize conversations on the taboo topic and empower victims to speak out. Among the many aims, the musical was to spark a conversation on policy change to remove — or attempt to remove — the social, physical, and medical barriers that prevent many victims from reporting their abuse or abusers.

Stories have power. They stay with people as long as their names. As simple as a story may seem, there are a thousand complex perspectives others may look at it from. There are many layers of themes that a story may seem to communicate. It takes a little more observation and keen attention to decipher all these hidden stories within the story.

A story is like a weapon. It can be used to defend and attack. Stories shape mindsets. They move people from one place to another, both physically and mentally. A changed mindset sooner or later produces changed behavior. The audience aspire to be the characters. They yearn for their results and imagine the effects of such results on their well-being.

For instance, my play, I Want To Sue God!, tackled the social issue of couples spending extravagantly on weddings and eventually drowning in an ocean of debt. Using humor, it weighed society’s expectations of a wedding and the financial capability of couples on the same scale. In an impossible attempt to please society, young couples end up in a pit of endless debt and a strained relationship, which sometimes ends before it even begins. The play advised, “It is better to go home as a happy couple rather than as a bankrupt double.”

A newlywed couple who came to see the play confessed that they would have spent more extravagantly if they had seen it before their wedding. Another couple whose wedding was a few weeks away immediately decided to cut down on a lot of their expenses.

Storytelling wields the power to change society. Like medicine, it brings healing to society. A society of ills is gradually purged by the stories that are shared. The caliber of stories a people are intentionally exposed to molds their mindset, and their mindset molds their character. This is why storytelling is more than a communication effort. It is a magic wand that calls forth into reality what was nonexistent.

A good story mends broken hearts. It fixes broken institutions and their toxic narratives. Through a good story, viable solutions are offered and administered. Courtesy of storytelling, a society achieves its aspirations.

Stories strengthen the weak. They are a medium through which the voiceless are heard. My 2019 play, Emergency Wedding, for instance, advocated for women, especially those who are 30 and beyond yet single. The play advocated for childless women. In a society where women are constantly pressured into marriage and childbirth, the play served as a timely reminder to its audience that “Man has his timelines, but God has the clock.”

As a cultural storyteller and development communications specialist, I have given every story of mine a mandate. The goal of every story is social impact. My stories are more than stories because they are always premised on a need or gap in society. Every play has an underlying social problem it seeks to solve.

For instance, according to the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, Ghana scored 43 out of 100. At the mention of corruption, all fingers point to politicians. However, many overlook how the ordinary citizen’s corrupt practices contribute to the swelling figures. It may be stealing a few tubers of yam at the office. Though a small act, it goes a long way in denying others an opportunity. My 2025 original musical play, The Saint In The Devil’s Shoes, was a one-cast story that focused on the ripple effects of corruption.

The Saint In The Devil’s Shoes was a bottom-up approach that refused to look at corruption from the standpoint of politicians. It looked at the same canker among civil servants. It sought to remind Ghanaians that one does not need to wear a political suit to be corrupt, just as they do not need to wear the same suit to spearhead change. All it takes is a (wo)man who has vowed to be the change they want to see.

This was a musical that put the audience on stage. The character looked and behaved like them ― complaining about the woes of a broken country yet refusing to see how he had contributed to the brokenness. Everybody wants change, but nobody wants to change.

Every story has power. The beauty of storytelling is that it builds the society we want. After all, we are all living stories. Every new day is a new chapter of this story.

For 11 years, I have told stories that have driven different conversations. What gladdens my heart is the impact such stories have on their audiences. It has never been about the depth of the stories, but the depth of the impact. A story without an impact is like a life without an assignment. This is how far storytelling has brought us, and this is only the beginning.

Gradually, we will build the society we desire to live in. One story at a time, we will change society’s behavior by first changing how they perceive the things around them. The change we desire may not happen today or tomorrow. However, it will definitely happen someday. This is the power of communication that targets social impact. This is the power of storytelling.

Kobina Ansah is the Chief Scribe of Scribe Productions (www.scribeproductions.com) and Scribe Communications (www.scribecommltd.com).