A Review Of Bill Okyere Marshall’s Play The Son Of Umbele’ Staged At The University Of Ghana School Performing Arts Drama Studio From The 13th To 16th June, 2024.
Synopsis of the Play
“The Son of Umbele “tells a story of a young man, Joshua son of the famous Madam umbele and heir to a massive empire, who set out to find the third end of a rope what Sumako described as impossible. His quest to find the impossible is to atone for his mothers sin and hopefully set things right with the peasant folks his mother maltreated. The play was written in simple English making it very easy for reading and comprehension. The play is set in front of the home of a fisherman Sumako’ House. As divided into three acts, The first act introduces us to the household of Sumako’s father to Duella , Attu ,Benko and Zekey and husband to a woman said to be sick. Throughout the play we only hear her cries but did not see her .The second act is captures the love affair between Joshua and Duella and the last act climax the play. It is also worthy to note that the banter between Joshua and Benko is also pivotal in this drama as tensions begin to boil following Benko’s displeasure at Joshua. The play as a tragedy addresses themes such as legacy and inheritances, morality and values and tradition versus modernity .
This review will critique the performance by the Abibigromma Theatre Resident Company, UG on Saturday 15th June 2023 only, focusing on the entire theatrical element; acting , light and sound ,costume and makeup ,set and props and finally score it over 10.
The first theatrical element for this discussion is the acting .Despite the simplicity of this play , it still had lengthy lines for most characters . Nevertheless, I was impressed by the performance . It was noticed that the actors’ dialogues except for the peasant women, were lengthy, which led to some mistakes and struggle in remembering some of the lines in the script. Sumako’s tone and pronunciation perfectly suited his role though he struggles with lines were noticeable, he still managed to bring his character to life .He limped just like an old man and spoke like one. At a point , I forgot myself thinking I was really seeing an old man. His chemistry Joshua was executed well.
Duella was also delightful to watch, and her features matched the playwright’s description. The chemistry with her siblings was great and her love scene with Joshua was just captivating to watch. She was beautiful with “Pretty large bosoms” as described by the playwright .
That leads us to Joshua, the visitor. Joshua was great to watch and his pronunciation was on point. He sounded like an educated elite who had come to lord over the peasants. . However, He forgot some of his lines especially the monologues ..
Benko, didn’t quite fit his role as the firstborn. He looked way younger than his younger brothers .His anger wasn’t as intense as expected, but he still brought the character to life. Attu occasionally missed lines but played along seamlessly, providing comic relief.
Zekey had a beautiful voice and skillfully handled the guitar, but like Attu, Zeekey appeared older than his role.The peasant women and fishermen were entertaining and managed to capture the audience’s attention with their presence, smiles, and humor. Their presence on the stage set the entire theatre at blaze.
The peasants women made the scene lively. The way they clung to Joshua and gave fake praises to Sumako was also exciting to watch.
The set designer did an excellent job, projecting a video of the sea behind the stage and creating a realistic fisherman’s house with straw roofing, palm fronts, and a sea net. The use of props was also impressive, with the actors handling them convincingly. The arrangement of the stationary props was done well. Sumako’s lazy man’s chair was strategically placed at the center right ,the hanging of the lampstand and bolt next . Benko and his brothers handled the cast nets to my maximum satisfaction and conviction.
The makeup artist did a great job on Sumako but could have made Benko appear older. The costumes were suitable for each character . Simple and believable
The lighting and sound design were well-executed, setting the mood and tone perfectly. The sound engineer’s use of fishermen’s songs before the play opened and the subtle sound effects during the climax were particularly effective.
Overall, I enjoyed the performance and appreciated the audience participation. Despite some minor issues, I rate the play 8/10. Only that the production started 7;11 instead of the 7;00 but I like the fact that the sound engineer entertains the audience with beautiful songs while waiting for the play to start. It was heartening to see Ghanaians supporting theatre arts, and I believe this trend will continue to grow in the next five years.
Congratulations to the casts and Crew. Great collaboration by  Abibigromma Theatre Resident Company, UG
Written by Miriam Afoley Laryea, BA Theatre Arts,UEW.
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