A music man called Ebo Whyte
Large doses of different kinds of music, it appears, is a great accompaniment for the consumption of Bananas and Groundnuts.
Advertisement
Accomplished playwright, Ebo Whyte’s latest production, Bananas and Groundnuts which shows again at the National Theatre on Saturday, September 5 and Sunday, September 6 at 4.00pm and 8.00pm daily, has so much music in it that one wonders if the writer should not share the accolade of ‘Mr Music Man’ with Kojo Antwi.
Those who saw, Bananas and Groundnuts last weekend can testify that they enjoyed the drama on stage as well as the performance of songs such as Chiquitita (Abba), Lady in Red (Chris De Burgh), Wind Beneath My Wings (Bette Midler), Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer (Kenny Rodgers and Kim Carnes) and Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring (Johann Sebastian Bach).
Others were Marry You (Bruno Mars), I Lived (OneRepublic), It's Your Birthday (Luther Campbell) and Me Gye Wo Date, a parody of Shatta Wale and Sarkodie’s Me Gye Wo Girl.
Music and dance are integral components in an Ebo Whyte play. The man even says that when he does auditions, he first looks for people who can sing and dance, not for actors. He trusts that with his rich experience in the theatre, he can turn anybody into an actor.
“I like music so much so there must be music in there whenever we put on a new play. I want people to have a total theatre experience. So you go in there, you are having drama, dance and music. It is a total theatre experience that has helped Roverman Productions get this far,” Ebo Whyte says.
Roverman is celebrating its seventh anniversary this year.
He admitted that some people have criticised him for that approach which meant that it was not everybody that felt comfortable with his method.
“There are people who think I must get serious and I have said that I learn better when I’m laughing. I learn better when I have been put at ease than when I have been put on edge and I believe there are others like me out there.”
So theatre fans who want to be put at ease this weekend can head to the National Theatre to consume some music and dance with their Bananas and Groundnuts.