A cultural exchange between Nigeria and Ghana has just produced fantastic stage razzmatazz, writes Edozie Udeze

It is amazing and extremely stunning how a Memorandum of Understanding (Mou) signed just a few months ago between Nigeria and Ghana could produce such a rich repertoire of theatre - in forms of dance/drama and music within such a brief period. At the moment, the Ghanaian National Troupe led by its director, Amy Appiah Frimpong is on a national dance/drama tour of Nigeria. With the cooperation of the National Troupe of Nigeria with which it entered into this cultural exchange/agreement for the purpose of the cross-fertilization of cultural ideas, the Ghanaian Troupe has been able to perform at different venues in the country.

Beginning with their momentous stage outing at the University of Ilorin where they were part of the 40 years anniversary of the institution, they moved to the Kwara State University, Molete, where they also displayed high level artistic dexterity. Their next destination was the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-Ife, Osun State. Their show there was said to be so outstanding that some of the students of the institution wanted them to stay longer.

After their performance at the University of Ibadan which saw them savouring the aura of the ancient city, they moved to the National Theatre, Lagos. It was at this venue that they brought out the best in them. After a workshop that lasted for hours, it was time for them to mount the stage. With their focus on women emancipation, the artistes proved through their handling of the play entitled Fire Storm that theatre has universal language; the language of love, togetherness, unity and so on, where the bridge between tradition and modernity will continue to dog the heels of man.

When an old tradition of betrothing young maidens to men old enough to be their fathers was brought to the fore, the young women in question did not take it lightly. Led by their leader in the person of Etah, they began to oppose this age long law or if you like ordinance. A lot of hot issues went into the debate for and against, yet the women stood their ground. The King of the community, Nana, had to muster the desired courage and wisdom to decree that equality and fairness should be their watchdog.

And so the women were made to recover their dignity and that eagerness to be part of a progressive society began to seep into their consciousness. It is a play totally imbued with brazenness in which the women showed uncommon solidarity and resilience in the face of stark hatred and scorn.

Frimpong explained that the genesis of this experiment began early in the year when she and Akin Adejuwon of the National Troupe of Nigeria agreed on a conversation around African theatre. "How do we get it on a platform? How do we really get our people to understand the meaning of our theatre? We agreed that African theatre has to be given meaning from within and that there is no way we can continue to explain our theatre based on European ideas. This is why we are here in Nigeria," she said.

"This play is all about women empowerment, which you know is a universal issue. It is a play we've done at the University of Ilorin and then decided to tour with it because woman issues are always alive and universal. We've had a good time in Nigeria. The experience has been heartwarming, from Ilorin to Ibadan to Lagos, it has been warm all the way. Fortunately for us too, our president was in Offa, Kwara State to receive a chieftaincy title. Over all, it has been great because theatre is a universal vehicle for love. We have been on the same stage with the National Troupe of Nigeria, working together and it has been quite rewarding."

In his own reaction, Adejuwon, the Artistic Director of the National Troupe said, "the essence of this is to revitalize the brotherly love and relationship that has always existed between Ghana and Nigeria. Our cultures are the same, we've always shared same beliefs and this was noticeable during the days of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. Then we had West African Students Union, championing the common ideals of all West African Students. This kind of union helped the people to develop. Then there was a lull during the military era, but we want to use culture now to bridge that gap."

Adejuwon whose strong belief in the culture of theatre of unity and cohesion went on further to say that "soon after the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari, his first visits were to the neighbouring nations. From there he quickly moved to Ghana, just to show the age-long brotherhood between the two countries. And the president of Ghana has been here twice. So as the cultural ambassador we have no choice but to use culture to bring the two nations together. That is the beauty of what we are doing now."

Even though the show was almost marred by the sudden interruption of electricity for close to an hour by the management of the National Theatre, the artistes maintained their poise on stage. In darkness the show went on as guests wallowed in heat and discomfort.