'Who be we': Ghana's first Experimental Pidgin Theatre piece set to hit National Theatre

"Who Be We?" is an experimental theatre piece created by Ghanaian spoken word artiste, Dodzi Korsi Aveh, popularly known as WhoIsDeydzi together with his team of creative artists. The piece was first devised as a theatre presentation by Dodzi Aveh as an independent study on “The Metaphorical representation of Ghanaian Pidgin English as a reflection of the Ghanaian post-colonial society.” This piece was presented at the University of Ghana, School of Languages Symposium on Pidgin English in Ghana, 2020.

After taking into consideration the positive feedback from the presentation, the team decided to improve on the piece, targeted a bigger audience and made it ready to be presented at the National Theatre's Folks Place, on the 26th of February 2020, 7pm prompt.

"We created the piece through devising, a theatre technique where the actors heavily contribute to the idea of the performance by brainstorming with the director and sharing ideas on how they feel the play should go. This was easy because my team is made up of multi-talented creative people from different artistic backgrounds," was what the Director had to say about the piece.

Meet the team

As part of his team, WhoIsDeydzi, has Fafanyo the Pryme, a performing artist and filmmaker, popularly known for his YouTube spoken word film series "Sessions with Self". Poetyk Prynx is a poet, spoken word artist and mental health activist, who has curated and organized a number of spoken word exhibitions on mental health. Woé, is a storyteller passionate about social change and telling the stories of women who have been sidelined by the patriarchy. She is the creator of the Nativity Exhibitions.

PencilMonk is an animator and an artist, passionate about expressing his truths through visual art. Lena is a theatre practitioner (actress, director and production manager) who spends her spare time as an art critic. Obiri Tete is a musician and a storyteller who recently released his hit single, "Bebia b?y? Fine." Shadrach Appiah Arthur is a trained dancer, currently doing his National Service at the University of Ghana Dance Department, and Jessica Attoh Okine is a final year Dance and Political Science student, passionate about dance and poetry.

The piece is in the form of a mixed media theatre piece drawing from all forms of art: spoken word, dance, music, poetry and painting. "For my team and I, we have had a lot of people sideline what we do because it is not mainstream. We find it interesting that pidgin as a language has been sidelined for the wrong reasons too. We chose to do this project to speak our truths, as outlandish as they are, and in an outlandish form and language.”

The performance will be happening as part of the Wednesday theatre project, a project established by the National Theatre and "Two Idiots Productions" to give young theatre practitioners the platform to practice their art.