An African Walks Into A Container

A scene from one of last year's plays.

About a year ago, I fell in love with the Accra Theatre Workshop. This was after I attended their first major event; An African Visits a Psychiatrist's Office - a collection of thought provoking and funny plays acted out on the most basic of stages on a lawn of a house in Tesano. I wrote about my experience here. I missed several of their events in the past year because of other engagements but there's no way I'm missing the second season of their short play festival; An African Walks into a Container. According to ATW, this year's collection of 10 minute plays features work from 8 different playwrights, 3 emerging directors and a brilliant ensemble of talented actors.

An African Walks into a Container is scheduled for November 6, 7 & 9 at 7:30pm each night for GH¢15 only at the Nubuke Foundation in East Legon.

You can check out the event page on Facebook; http://on.fb.me/1E5TQQ1

This year's poster.

Accra Theatre Workshop Revives Indie Theatre

The Accra Theatre Workshop is the next big thing on the Ghanaian theatre scene. According to their blog, the indie theatre is a community of artists who can support each other, forming a forum where artists can receive critical and useful feedback in a supportive environment.

After spending my Saturday night in the lawn at their Tesano place, my heart was won by the brilliance exhibited on stage by the actors, the creativity of the writers/directors and the effort put in by everybody involved with the organization. This past weekend's show was supposed to be the first of many for a new season of monthly shows they've planned.

The night saw eight short plays performed back to back after a harmonious acoustic performance by Yogendra Ahimi, an unknown indie artiste himself. It is difficult to choose which play was my favorite but if I'm forced to choose, the title act(an African visits a psychiatrist's office) written by Gbontwi Anyetei did it for me. The dialogue and acting was just on point.

Another reason why I think we should all pay attention to and support the ATW is that they're a bunch of obviously hardworking young people who are not doing the usual Ghanaian thing of ''we call on government to come to our aid''. They're of the new crop of Ghanaian youth who believe the change we want to see must be caused by us. They're proper vim squad as one of my twitter pals put it in one of her blog posts.

Help Revive Accra's Rex Cinema

This post was originally going to be titled "Two Ghanaian Projects You Should Support on Kickstarter" or something more interesting around those lines. It was going to be a call to support DUST Africa's and then Akosua Adomaa Owusu's projects they have put up on kickstarter. The title had to change because I found out while writing this that the former's funding had been cancelled due to an inability to reach their goal at the end of the set target of 15 days. Rather sad if you ask me. I love what they do at DUST and even had a subscription to the free magazine. I do hope they find a way to achieve their goals soon though.

What you have to do right now is to support the move to Save The Rex. The 'why you should support Akosua Adoma's project' has been very well laid out by her on her kickstater page here. She's looking to raise $8000 revive The Rex Cinema.

But why do I think you should support her if you can? Because I was at the premiere of her film Kwaku Ananse at the Alliance Francais in Accra. Not only was the film beautiful but the event she put together was awesome. What more could one ask for when Agya Koo Nimo and his band performs at a film premiere as such? I could go on and on about how awesome the day was. I actually sat through the drizzle with my date ;) 

Simple and short, Akosua is going to do a damn good job if she meets the target.(and it's not like I even know her personally)

The other reason? Because the arts industry in Accra and Ghana needs places like Rex Cinema to function for it to go a step further. Have you ever thought of how boring Accra can get sometimes?(especially when you have to make a choice for a hangout or just an outing?) There are very few interesting things to do. With places like Rex Cinema functioning, there will be a wider variety of events to choose from and opportunities for young artists to show their work.

Lest I forget. If this revival of the Rex doesn't happen it stands the chance been sold soon and been converted into a warehouse or some other business. You wouldn't want that? Would you?

Let's cut the chase chale. Damn The Man, Save The Rex, if you can.


UPDATE!!!
OKAY! This morning, @DUSTAfrica replied my tweet.

@ofoli_kwei Nope! Not cancelled, new campaign => http://t.co/fJaG6gsmwf Please share:-)
— DUSTmagazine (@DUSTAfrica) October 18, 2013

So it looks like we could go back to the old heading now. As to why you should support DUST, it is also very well laid on their kickstarter page. Another reason is the cool behind people behind it and because like they put like to put it;
"There is no one place online where you can find reliable and current information written by the region's opinion leaders about current affairs, nor is there any place where pop culture gurus can go to find out what is bubbling in Africa's cultural pot."

Photos: Jamestown Lighthouse

During Chale Wote 2013, I took several shots of the Jamestown lighthouse.Here are a few. The Jamestown Lighthouse was built by the British at James Fort in 1871 and stands at 93 ft (28 m) tall with a visibility of 16 nautical miles (30 km). You just can't miss it if you drive through Jamestown on the Accra High Street.

Agya Koo Nimo is a Legend

The National Theatre of Ghana is 20 years old. As part of activities to celebrate, the theatre in collaboration with Roverman Productions and Openemma Productions have planned events to celebrate various legends in the arts in Ghana. Agya Koo Nimo was the first to be celebrated and his event took place this past weekend(Saturday and Sunday). I was at the Sunday event with a friend.

I don't know much about music but it was quite clear to me that what happened on Sunday night was some sort of musical magic. Agya Koo Nimo with his Adadam Agofomma played along the National Symphony Orchestra, the Ghana Police Band and the Tema Youth Choir. That's a fuse of palm-wine high-life, orchestral, regimental and choral music; which according to the host has never been done before. I was quite pleased to be there.

Since the very first time I watched Agya Koo Nimo and his Adadam Agofomma perform at the premiering of Akosua Adoma's Kweku Ananse short film, I've been in love. I've heard his music for years, but fell in love because of  his story telling skills and wisdom. He introduces every song he performs with an often serious life lesson filled and yet humorous story. I'm still struggling with my self to figure out which of his stories is my favorite; whether it is the one about the 1962 bad winter in London or about the 90 year old granddad planting a coconut farm or the one about Socrates and his quarrelsome wife. The ensemble performed ten songs as scheduled but did a few encores for the intrigued audience. Here's the list of songs performed on the night.
Akokɔ bɔn
Owusu Semamma
Naa Densua
Osammarima (Fiera mmone kɔ)
Aburokyire Abrabɔ 
Yare yɛ ya
Otuo Akyeampong
Akora Dua Kobe
Okomfo Anokye

I left the National Theatre with a greater appreciation and respect for Agya Koo Nimo, his band and the National Symphony Orchestra. Ghana needs to pay more attention to the arts chale.

#ChaleWote2013: I Was There Some

Accra [dot] Alt's Chale Wote  street art festival keeps getting better. In a few years, I see people actually camping in Jamestown waiting for day two of the festival. I learned so much from this year's festival about Jamestown. Brazil House was my biggest discovery. I know I'll learn more about Jamestown as the years go by. And oh, I met a few of the cool people I follow on twitter. :)

All You Need to Know About #ChaleWote2013

It is time for Accra [dot] Alt's Chale Wote Street Art Festival once again. This will be the third annual edition and my second. Last year was great even though I missed the performance by the men with the blue faces which from all indications and stories told was amazing. And as if to tease me, they put of the blue faces on this year's poster. LOL.

I've been following Accra [dot] Alt closely on social media and I must say I'm excited very much excited about all the activities I see being planned for this year's festival and can't wait for Saturday and Sunday. 

Whenever I happen to mention the festival to folk who I think might like to check it out, they ask me questions about the event; some of which I cannot get good answers to. This week however, Accra [dot] Alt folk have made it simple and easier for me to do this explanation.

Here's a Q&A about the festival and the schedule for this year.

You can't afford not to be part of this groundbreaking festival that I see becoming Accra's biggest event in a few years. See you in Jamestown.

Church Worship or Emotional Highs?

For the record, I'm a confused 'Christian', if you care to know. I blogged about my confusion a few months ago here. Like many Ghanaians, I was born into a family many will consider as a 'Christian family'; we go to church on Sundays and my parents have some leadership positions in the church. (Myself I chop some post for youth church before, then e no be easy)

I'm at church right now. My beef today is about worship in church, where worship is singing(mostly slow religious songs) to praise God. I see a lot of the worship people give to the Supreme Being in church as fake. (I believe true worship goes beyond the walls of any church in the world). A lot of church folk are only over taken by the emotions that the loud music and environment in church provides. They most often get into a mood I'll like to call an emotional high. People like to look cool in church too, you know?

I hope that the tweet I posted earlier did a good job of summarising this: Sentimental Crescendo; church things.

Will Accra Benefit From Being Number 4?

"4. Accra, Ghana - A buzzing metropolis ready for business and pleasure."

A view of Accra from Dansoman borrowed from somewhere on the internet

Yesternight, on my home while on the final shared-taxi that gets me closest to my house, I was as usual social networking my way through the dusty and horribly bumpy ride. I came across a link to an NY Times article @WizSharifa had posted on her Facebook. The link which I'm sure you've also come across(because it's making it rounds on Ghana social media) by now, led to a piece on the 46 places to visit in 2013. In fact, I'm writing this around 5am after I woke up and found on my twitter how other people have shared the same link, just btw.

Why should such a list interest us in Ghana this much? Because Accra was number 4 on that list! I must confess that, the rather short piece on Accra is on point, apart from the fact that only high end places in the city were mentioned. On point enough make anybody with prior plans of coming here get 'more vim' to do so.

It's amazing how some things come together for me. Just before I went to bed on Friday night too, I used the remainder of the mobile data bundle to create a personal hotspot to download the latest edition of @DustAccra 's DUST magazine, the best magazine right now there is about the city, that is Accra... and it's free! Download a digital copy or if you're still old school like me and like to feel the paper while reading subscribe or grab a copy at a few of their designated outlets. Check them out at www.dustaccra.com.

Funny thing is, this new edition of DUST focuses on the whole 'Brand Ghana' thing. Something we've heard a lot noise being about in Ghana before. The piece 'Branding Ghana' written by Sena Kpado opens with a rather interesting line; "From the outside, it's fair to say the eyes of the world are on Africa...". A statement that has gained more weight in my opinion, per Ghana's number 4 spot in the referred to NY Times feature.

I, like several of you like-minded and well meaning Ghanaians, have one concern or maybe a few concerns. I just hope this won't be one of those things that make the news, creates a lot of buzz on our air waves and like any other thing, is used by politicians more than anybody to make selfish arguments for they and the parties they represent without anybody really putting in any work for us as a country to reap as much benefit from it as possible.

Here's the link to the page http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/01/10/travel/2013-places-to-go.html?hp . New York Times y'3daase.