There's a great deal of music and dance in Ghana (and oh, how fabulous West African music is!), but not so much live theater, so when I saw the flyers about a play called "Terms of Divorce" at the National Theater, I set out to attend the 4 p.m. performance today (Sunday). First, you ABSOLUTELY MUST look at this building: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Theatre_(Accra) (and other sites, including architectural photos, if you google national theater accra). It's shaped like some kind of outer space boat and was built by a Chinese contractor.
The ticket selling and seating arrangements aren't as high-tech as the architecture, but the sponsorship marketing was rather clever.The show's sponsors were a radio station and a mobile phone company. Everyone who had a ticket was given an MTN (mobile phone company) phone card worth GHc5 (about $3.50, and I can talk to the US for an hour on that). There was American music blaring as you came in to find a seat, and two projectors were running title slides for the show, and then between acts, while the sets were being changed, MTN ran commercials!
At first I was somewhat annoyed (yeah, as if the only visibly non-Ghanian in the audience actually had a say) because people were bringing in their children (to a play about divorce?), talking on cell phones, reading texts, and talking, though in low voices. But after I asked the ladies in front of me to please not use their cell phones during the performance, and I got used to the crying babies -- figuring in order to go the theater families had to bring everyone -- it was quite an enjoyable show...part comedy, part romance, part religious message, part musical. (Ghanians are very religious Christians, and the music is so glorious it could make a believer out of the most ardent atheist!)
The audience was very involved -- laughing, exclaiming, reacting, singing along to Ghaian and American songs they knew (I ALWAYS want to do that in the theater at home!), and swaying with their hands in the air during the religious parts. I did everything except the hands and swaying bit, and I actually cried in a portion where although I couldn't understand the actress' accent, she obviously was in so much emotional pain.
When the performance ended (and the bows were nicely choreographed to dance music), the playright/director came on stage to do what we call in the U.S. "the curtain speech", though at home it's done at the beginning. Whatever it's called and wherever it is, it's begging for dollars and acknowledging supporters. But then another interesting marketing ploy -- 20 of the programs were autographed (I don't know by whom), and those people received gift bags from MTN, presented by uniformed employees. Audience members could also go into the lobby and have their picture taken, but I avoided that. And, still in the spirit of capitalism, when the hundreds of us emerged from the theater -- everyone dressed nicely, with women in both contemporary western and traditional African garb -- the taxi drivers were charging twice as much as the route usually costs!
Friday night I joined a colleague and his wife to hear some northern Ghanain music, which got a bit repetitious though, as usual, the African drums were wonderful; a couple of nights earlier I went to hear some "highife" -- the Ghanain big band music that was so popular internationally in the 50's and remains a staple of Ghana's musical diet.
I talked to you, Keaton (14 year-old grandson), and you, Kirra (4-year old girl twin granddaughter) on skype, and Makayla (almost 12-year old granddaughter) sent me several e-mails. I also went to the supermarket, mopped my floors, did laundry, went out to the pool, and worked on updating the projects' web page and learning how to operate my "kindle" electronic book. All in all, not a bad weekend.
xooxoo Love, Grammy
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