Getting to Know You: Heritage Theatre Series

Time commitment: 2 hours
Price: 50 cedis per person
Venue: National Theatre (Accra)
Dress code: Casual dressy, cocktail, or traditional

This weekend Beau and I are very excited to be attending the first installment in a series of plays known as the Heritage Theatre Series at Ghana's National Theatre. This event is a wonderful conversation starter! Learning about the collective history of various ethnicities in Ghana is an excellent way to segue into learning more about your partner and their family background and history.

This first play is entitled Wogb3 J3k33: The Birth of a Nation. The series will be a retelling of Ghana's evolution from its pre-colonial days up into contemporary times through the lenses of various ethnic groups. Ghana has such a rich history that I feel is often shortchanged by only being told from an overly simplified perspective of colonialists versus "us".  I am quite intrigued by how this will take a more nuanced approached that will interplay perspectives colored by tradition, ethnic groups, languages, alliances and rivalries, and even gender (fingers crossed but as there are two female directors the odds are good).

According to citifmonline.com, "This part focuses on the arrival and settlement of various ethnic groups, advent of slave trade and colonialism, and the struggle for independence. The second in the series, which documents on Ghana from 1957 to 1992 is expected to be staged in 2016. The third part to be staged in 2017, tells the story of Ghana from 1992 to modern times. The productions are actually a build-up to Ghana's 60th Anniversary in 2017." 

Indeed, I hope much attention is paid to the fact that our history did not start with the arrival of European oppression. I am looking forward to the producers taking a leisurely approach to exploring that period of our history. I know it was not a completely serene and peaceful time, but I think the mere acknowledgement of the dynamic nature of our society back then provides a comparative backdrop to examine where we are now and where we can move towards in the future. This is most especially poignant in this trying economic times in Ghana. This play has the chance to do so much and my hopes are high. However, the 'powers that be' behind the performance do inspire confidence.

The series is being written and produced by Chief Moomen who is best known for his talent as one of the foremost spoken word artists in Ghana. The advertisements I have heard have promised that it will be a mesh of his background in poetry while melding together dance, music, and dramatic performances. It is also being co-directed by Anima Misa Amoah, a gifted playwright, actress, and sister of the popular local king of comedy, KSM. I quite fondly remember attending his Saga of the Returnee show as a kid and not understanding how big of a deal it was that he could get ex-presidents JJ Rawlings and John Kufuor to shake hands and laugh at themselves. Hopefully, this production will hold some of the same fearless social commentary. The play is also being co-directed by Abdul Karim Hakib, a lecturer at the University of Ghana School of performing arts, and has over 150 cast and crew members contributing to the production.

Now on to the nitty gritties:

Performance dates: 
Saturday, July 4th 2015
Sunday, July 5th 2015

Peformance times: There will be a 4pm and an 8pm show each day.

Where Purchase:  Get your tickets at National Theatre or Koala.

We hope you will be able to catch the first installment and follow along with us for the next two plays.  I will post a review after we have attended and we would love to hear your experiences if you go too.

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