A Review of Efua Sutherland’s “The Marriage of Anansewaa” staged at the national theatre Ghana 28th September 2024 as part of the Centenary Celebration of the Efua Sutherland, a pioneer of Ghana Theatre.
Summary of the play
Efua Sutherland’s The Marriage of Anansewaa* is a play that employs traditional African storytelling techniques to recount the story of George Kweku Ananse* a cunning and mischievous man who uses his daughter’s beauty * as a bit or an “object of interest” to improve his social standing and gain wealth using his. As the play reaches its climax, all four chiefs make their intention to marry Anansewaa on the same day. Unable to handle this tornado, Ananse fakes the death of her daughter with his immediate family to ascertain the best choice among four wealthy chiefs. All but Chief -who -is – Chief wins as he still makes plans to bury and hold all the rituals for “dead Anansewaa,” just as he would have done should he have gotten the chance to marry Anansewaa. He still considered the dead as a bride and Ananse as the father-in-law. Contrary to the other three chiefs, i.e., chief of Mines, Chief of Sapaase, and Togbe Klu, they send their messengers to bid her farewell and send gifts.
The play ends happily as Anansewaa resurrects, claiming she heard Chief -who- is -chief, calling her back to life. Thus winning the bridal race. The play explores themes such as marriage, deception, family, and social obligations.
This review captures events from the first show on Saturday, 28th September 2024, at 4 pm show. This capture, Acting, set , props , music, dance, sound, light, costume and make-up,
Acting.
The actors really understood the script and internalized the lines.
The opening scene was great. Beautiful curtain raiser with children playing, interesting stage business. Akosua and Akwasi did excellent showcasing the conflict between them and dragging it into the market scene to call for attention. Irene Estelle Akrong and Eli K. Foli who played Akosua and Akwasi were very engaging to watch as they argued and asked the traders to be judges of the latest development of their romantic affair. It was a great spectacle and reaction from the market crowd.
For Ananse and Anansewaa, the duo carried the play too well and handled their monologues brilliantly and interacted with the audience very well. Ato Ghartey mastered the Ananse role. The chemistry between father and daughter was excellent. Ananse took charge of the stage and excellently delivered the appellations of the chiefs with Great gestures and clarity in his voice. His great energy, interspersed with the Fante dialect, was effortless. The funeral scene was just brilliant. He kept giving clues to the property man to guard the body. He was super amazing, just that I feel he added too many adlibs and somewhat played to the gallery, but the audience did enjoy it, so that is cool.
Anansewaa which was played by Mabel was another interesting cast to watch; she was good on the typewriter and exhibited a father-daughter relationship with Ananse. Her facial expressions were just excellent to register her confusion, Joy and anticipation for her engagement seemed awesome to watch. In her funeral scene, she occasionally destroyed the magic by waking up from the dead. Very hilarious. She also made the Fante dialect sound like a native speaker. Great casting , her physique complemented the role.
Andrew Tandoh-Adote who played Property man was just on point. Ananse’s personal assistant, I would say handled the role perfectly and served the true reflection of what Property Men do in drama. Setting the stage on time and running errands. He made the funeral scene very engaging and ensured decorum during the funeral, and protected the dead Anansewaa as well. Without him, Ananse would have had a tough time on the stage. Perfect collaboration.
And for Aya and Ekuwa, they were on top of their game. They displayed what most Ghanaian women know how to do, that is, exaggerating and jumping to conclusions without any proper scrutiny. Pamela Karikari who played Ekuwa and Agnes Panfred for Aya collaborated well.
The way the two believed Ananse’s cunning plan about the burnt Cocoa farm and agreed to leave for the village was just true to life. Their gestures and delivery were intriguing as they blamed the action as an act of witchcraft and the doing of their enemies. Again , their collaboration with the girls made the engagement scene action-packed and beautiful to watch as they took turns and presented gifts to The Friends of Anansewaa also made the scene lively.
And to Christie, Perfecto. Gadede Segbefia killed the role. She brought out her “A Game”. Her foreign British accent was just on point. She acted as a submissive wife and aided Ananse to execute the mischievous plan. Her romantic scenes with Ananse are fantastic and a spectacle to watch. Her presence is also felt on the stage as she comes with a different aura. Her nuances and gestures were trademarks. The way she pronounces “Georgie ” became a chant on the lips of the audience as they kept chanting it whenever she began to deliver. Before I forget, she handled the funeral scene excellently and took the donations with ultimate joy amidst the wailing. Finally , the way she occasionally rehearses how to weep for the visitors to believe she is truly bereaved is exceptional.
Joseph Kwao also understood his role as Post Man. His delivered his lines well. His stage presence alone gives a clue of his profession. He allowed Ananse`s affluence to influence him. The way he declined Ananse’s money and later took it was very funny.
And to the Messengers of the Chiefs. The messengers of Sapaase namely : Kwabena Okyere, Godson Quarcoo and
Sandra Oduro Nyamekye were delightful to watch. Again the messenger of Togbe Klu
i.e Benjamin Adzika and Eli Foli were
also vibrant and noted from the others with their “Ewe Accent.” While the Messenger from mines were believable and snappy in their submissions , that Chief who is Chief left by Brian was a bit shaky but he managed to carry the day.
The storyteller was great. Elvis Crystal did well with his delivery. Very engaging but I feel he dragged his scenes.
The other extras, like the workers, were great to watch and made a few changes to the set. I still found the Mason, electrician and the Painter’s presence didn’t contribute much to the renovation of the house.
Now to the technical aspect.
Music is very integral to this production. I must admit the “mmoguo” or the musical interlude was soothing and captivating. Ananse sang so well and infused it into his acting. How he switches back to the dialogue was just amazing. Anansewaa also had great vocals and sang beautifully to complement her role. The storyteller sounded great.
The chorus’ songs influenced the mood and provided great commentary on what is happening and yet to come especially the song that was sung to implore the dead Anansewaa to wake up.
Not forgetting the musical interludes at the church scene, these songs ensured believability, and each song was dedicated to a day borns(Kofi and Ama). For once, I felt I was in church. A lot of dancing and singing.
The dances were beautifully Choreographed. Principal amongst them is the dances to bid Anansewaa farewell.
Sound
Now to Sound. The sound team did well with the theme song played before the production started and when it ended. However, they missed some details. When Christie sent for the Taxi, and it arrived, there was no sound of the Taxi horn to show a car was waiting and the Car moved; no sound of a moving car was heard. These cues could have influenced believability but were missing.
Costume and Makeup
They were utilized well. The smock, Ananse’s outfit, Kente hand beads, anklet, Anansewaa ‘s wedding gown, black funeral cloth and Christie’s beautiful dress together with her red hat, among many others influenced their characterization.
Anansewaa’s makeup was great, and so was Christie. Surprisingly, Christie had a tattoo on her right arm, and it got me thinking if that had any influence on her characterization. Anyways, Great display.
Props
While the stage props like the sofa, Stools, old telephone, cups, and schnapps worked perfectly. Ananse’s Umbrella was very dry but He came from outside where it was raining. Technically, his umbrella should have been wet and not dry. Again, I feel there was some anachronism somewhere. Considering the setting of the play in the 1950s or 60s, there were a few mismatches. There was some modern colored furniture for Ananse which wasn’t available during that 20th century Ghana. Again, questions on the 200 cedis note used by Kweku Ananse were on my mind. This note was only introduced in somewhere 2019/20 in Ghana.
There was also a Yomi Yoghurt drank by Ananse; this is a new product and wasn’t available in 20th century Ghana. Maybe Yommi Yoghurt was a sponsor; if so, then well noted. Another Anachronism of props is evident in the camera used to take photographs, too modern. But they were cool just that it didn’t fit the setting of the play.
Lest I forget, the set was amazing. Great entrance and exits. The backdrop revealing a sketch of Ananse (Spider) was a great concept
. Another backdrop also revealed a mighty tree in the backyard of the house. And the color blend of the set was cool depicting the era of the play. The actors made good use of it especially the exit.
Light
The light was quite ok. Not too exceptional. The disco light used in Anansewaa’s funeral was good, and the spotting of the storyteller was cool, but sometimes they delayed with the cues. Christie also played out the light on one occasion before the light was shown to her. Her facial expressions were concealed.
Again, the light hardly was dimmed to different times in a day whether the morning, afternoon or evening.
Audience.
The audience reacted greatly and laughed throughout the play. They felt the emotions of the actors like Ananse Christie, and Anansewaa. Though some scenes were dragged and made the play last for 2 hours, 55 minutes 3 hours approximately, the audience was still glued to their seats till curtain call.
I will rate this production 8.8/10 great collaboration and treatment of the play. Kudos to April Communication, Image Bureau and the National Theatre, Ghana.
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