Kobina Ansah back with "The Boy Called A Girl”
Everyone knows how badly Pastor Ronny Armah has always wanted to have a daughter― even to the extent of naming his only son “Ewura”. Though he seems to have a weird aversion to this son, others perceive the man of God as a model in the community, especially considering how he’s turned the lives of many around with his dance centre, Ronny’s Dance Factory.
He runs this dance centre as a form of reformation by using dance/movement therapy to help people overcome addictions and all sorts of immorality.
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After many years of reforming others, there are two ugly secrets under his own roof about to haunt him― the one he has been hiding from everyone and another secret about Ewura he has never imagined.
There has always been a reason he has dreaded having a son which is known to only him. The veil is about to fall. Secrets are too slippery to hide forever!
This is the storyline of “The Boy Called A Girl”, the latest play by Kobina Ansah which will be staged at the National Theatre on Saturday, July 20.
The family /musical drama touches on sensitive themes such as parental negligence, confused identity and domestic abuse.
Staging plays
Kobina Ansah’s Scribe Productions has for the past four years staged plays in Accra, Kumasi and Tarkwa attracting many theatre lovers.
Kobina, who is the playwright and director explains to The Mirror how much effort he puts into making each play successful.
“Staging a play comes with a lot of headaches but what drives us is passion. We rehearse for months for a two-hour performance because we want to do everything as excellently as possible. I look forward to the day that Ghanaian theatre will be one of our greatest exports.”
“We embark on a serious campaign to create awareness each time we have a play. I personally walk to a lot of corporate entities to invite them to come and see our plays. If you have a dream, you need to carry it on your shoulders however you can.”
Challenges
Theatre productions are capital-intensive and the playwright could not hide how difficult it has been for him and his team to keep their production house going all these years. A chunk of their headache is finances and it always has a way of affecting their output.
“As a team, you may always want to deliver an excellent output but lack of a lot of requirements, especially money, can hinder this expectation. You can’t advertise well when you have no money. You can’t even motivate your team well when there’s little or no money,” he lamented.
Telling stories the Kobina Ansah way
Kobina, who is also a columnist in The Mirror, has an interesting way of getting the attention of his followers.
In his weekly column, Inside Kobina Ansah’s Shrine, he writes on trending societal issues while empowering young people.
“Reading is sometimes a chore for me and I know I am not the only one in this situation. For one to get me to read their content, it should be catchy enough and this is the same technique I have used over the years to get attention from my readers.”
His works have been featured on both local and international platforms. In 2015, he was one of the few Africans who was interviewed by Amsterdam-based media house, Intoconnection, for their outstanding efforts to make the continent, a better place with their creativity.
“I think the problem with the Ghanaian art space has little to do with money but a lot to do with content. Our stories are either too predictable or overly told. Every good movie or play starts with a good story and this is what most producers out there should be paying attention to. If you invest a million dollars into a junk story, it only becomes a million-dollar junk movie,” he explained.
He continued, “It shouldn’t always be about comedy. Our stories should not always be about blaming witches for our choices. There are great stories out there we are not telling. There are a lot of problems facing us as a people and these are the stories we should be telling. Art is a tool that should be used not only to entertain but also to change the paradigm of a people.”
Kobina Ansah has five stage plays to his credit; This Family Is Not For Sale Season 1 and 2, My Wife-in-law, I Want To Sue God! and Tribeless. All of these plays have specific social issues they focus on, including streetism, gender inequality, marriage among others.
According to the creative brain, he foresees a day where the world would troop in to Ghana to see plays. In the not too distant future, he envisages the Ghanaian theatre to be a force to reckon with.
“I am very certain a day will come when Ghanaian content will rub shoulders with others from other parts of the world and that is why you should come and see The Boy Called A Girl on Saturday, July 20. First show is at 4 p.m and second at 8 p.m.”
