Have you heard about
Uncle Ebo Whyte’s latest play "Blackmail"?
If you haven’t, then someone did you a
great dis-service because, it is by far the best thing to happen in this first
quarter of 2017! (Trust me, better than all the “trending” stories on Facebook
right now), and if you missed it last weekend, you have four more chances to
see it at the National theater as it shows again on the 1st and 2nd of
April at 4pm and 8pm each day.
I was lucky to see the premier last wednesday and two other shows on
the weekend, and like many others who did, I have not stopped talking about it since.
The Story
Rev. Elisha (played by
Andrew Adote), after years of hard work, dedication, and prayer, is about to be
ordained to the office of Bishop for the International Faith is Sure House (I-FISH)
ministry. Nothing could go wrong. But
when a skeleton he thought he had left buried in the USA creeps up on him, and without
warning, and on the eve of his ordination, his only means of escape is the
truth. With no telling what the consequences would be, he turns to his wife, Gifty
(played by Viva Aderko), who is forced to make a choice between forgiveness and
revenge.
Characters
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| Rev. Elisah and Rev. Tawiah celebrate their reunion |
Each character in the
Blackmail play, which is stage managed by Nana Sam Elliot-Sackeyfio, carries a
piece of our lives, and each brings to bear both our weaknesses and strengths. Besides
Rev. Elisha and Gifty (who is affectionately referred to as Mama G in the story), we see
characters like Rocky (played by Vandyke Stuff), who is caught in a sex scandal
with Mama G, and John (played by Nana Kofi Abrefa Sunnu), Gifty’s brother and Colonel
in the British army who has “a big gun” and is unafraid to say. He is tech
savvy and stands by his sister as she destroys the evil plans of a corrupted
man of God.
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| Aba and John share a private moment |
Elsie Attieku Nuku plays Aba, John’s love interest. She is bubbly, yet efficient, and fashionable
all in one. You can’t help but hate and love her at the same time. The man on a
mission, Rev Tawiah (played by Afome Dankwah), and Elisha’s brother in Christ
for over 20 years, is the character who asks deep questions about
why people judge others despite their own shortcomings. We endure Inspector
Baako (played by Atta Gyimah Fenning), the obnoxious atheist inspector who “hates
hypocrites” with his whole being, yet does not flinch about extorting money from
others, and we are supposed to be angry at Winnie (played by Animwaa Anim-Addo),
because of the actions she took that almost destroyed another’s marriage. We
however find ourselves drawn to her suffering, and cannot help but pity her for
the price she has to pay for her actions. The play indeed has a beautiful mix
of all of us: what we have become as a result of our experiences, what we
aspire to be, and what we are when others are not watching.
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| Inspector Baako interrogates Mama G and Rev. Elisha |
Set/Coustumes/Makeup
I have fallen in love
with many of the sets of Roverman productions plays, and the set for Blackmail
is definitely going into the list of sets that stole my heart. The 2-in-1 set, constructed
by Joojoh Tetteh Quantson, comprises Rev. Elisha’s plush office and the living
room of a chalet at an expensive hotel where Rev Tawiah is checked into.
I loved the costumes of
especially Mama G and Aba, and have decided to contact Egya Onwona Sarfo
and Sandra Martey (the costume designers) to make me a customized version of
Mama G’s costume for her opening act! The hair and makeup that complimented the
costumes were done by Magdalene Naa Whyte, a veteran make-up artist for
Roverman productions plays.
Extras
As is always seen on the
Roverman stage, we are entertained with not only great acting and singing, but
dance as well. Kofi Anthonio and Alfred Quainoo do what they do best, and we
see beautiful dance pieces throughout the show and for the curtain bow.
The only little thing
that, in my opinion, detracted from the play is sound and lights, There were occasional breaks in the microphones and lights were not always well coordinated with the acts, especially the choreograpies . Luckily, the plays were very interesting, so even a mega critic like myself could let this slide. It would be nice however, if technical elements could be tightened a lot
more in future plays, and I am trusting the Roverman team to deliver accordingly in this regard. Having said this, I think overall this play is worth
watching (I’ll score it an 8 out of 10) and I would highly recommend it for
anybody looking for great entertainment.
Now, the best part!
Anaalescribes would be giving
a discount to ten (10) lucky people to see the show this weekend. Tickets are going for 80 cedis, but I would
personally pay 30 cedis for each of these lucky people so that they can get the
ticket at 50 cedis. That’s a whopping 37.5% discount! Is this great or what?
Conditions are that you should not have benefited from the previous promo, you
shouldn’t be a member of Roverman productions, and all you have to do is follow
my blog! Easy-peasy! Promo runs till Friday the 31st of March at 5
pm and is on “first come, first served” basis. Email me at ruthfirsta@yahoo.ie or send me a WhatsApp
message on 0202502729 to enjoy this promo!
