Review of ‘Rejected’ – A play by Uncle Ebo Whyte

Recently, I had the privilege to be a part of the few invited people to witness the premier of Uncle Ebo Whyte’s latest play, “Rejected”, beautifully performed at the national theatre in Accra.

The beautiful set, designed by in-house designer Joojo Quansah, was well demarcated and touched with the right amount of lighting which brought the set to life with the perfect aesthetic effect.

Inside the well crafted set, an amazing ensemble of actors plays. At the beginning of the play, Comfort (Viva Aderko) who brought the title of the play to life, is seen at the lower part of the set, the kitchen to be precise, making her husband, Thompson (Nana Kofi Sunu), his favorite meal for lunch but snubs her and proceeds to the barber’s in preparation prepare for a seemingly important secret wedding ceremony between him and Felicia, the only daughter of his rich boss.

Then came Sammy (Andrew Akote), in his regular drunken state to the home of his best friend Thompson with the intent of talking him out of his secret wedding but is welcomed by Thompson’s wife, comfort, who upon further probing managed to convince Sammy to reveal the truth about the ‘mystery wedding’.

The return of Thompson from the barber’s unraveled the entire dramatic content of the play and led to the introduction of Crystal K. Aryee who played Thompson’s possessive, crazy and materialistic mother; Andrew Bulley Jnr who also played Thompson’s brother and finally the “luxury- oriented” but honest pastor, played by Andrew Asah.

Each scene has a pinch of comedy which always tickled the fancy of the audience. The comedic timing of each actor is impeccable and their acting chops were undeniable.

Music director, Joseph Appiah put together an amazing collection of songs which perfectly suited every scene and brought them to life. The play was characterized with smooth changing of scenes, a clear focus and a cohesiveness that was both impressive and unmatched.

In addition, the stage manager for the night, Nana Sam Elliot Sackeyfio and his assistant Sena Tsikata did an incredible job but bringing on board their expertise which reflected in the beauty of the stage. Costume designers, Egya Sarfo and Sandra Akweley Mantey made sure the role of every character in the play reflected in their outfit.

The technical director would have done incredibly well without the few hitches in one of the microphones. Naa Whyte blew me away with the level of professionalism in her makeup skill and the output of production manageress Elsie Atieku Nuku left me in complete awe and I must add that I was greatly impressed.

I encourage you to go see this production this month and I guarantee that you won’t find one at this time of the year as refreshing and inspiring as the ‘Rejected’ by Uncle Ebo Whyte.

Credit: Nana Yaa Asabea.