Anaalescribe's Discounted Tickets to See "Blackmail" by Uncle Ebo Whyte

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 1^st and 2^nd 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

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. 

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.

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 31^st 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!