Uncle Ebo Whyte: A force for good

For many theatre lovers in Ghana, the name James Ebo Whyte, better known as Uncle Ebo Whyte, is a household one that brings back memories of world-class plays.

Some of the plays are 'Bananas and Groundnuts,' 'The Smartest Man Alive,' 'Mr President, Watch Your Move' and 'Unhappy Wives, Confused Husbands,' among many others under the stable of Roverman Productions.

From his first play, 'Man Must Live' in 1975, to his latest theatre works this year, Uncle Ebo Whyte, a celebrated and gifted storyteller, has helped to shape society through his work, which he anchors on the spirit of excellence.

“It is not for me to say that I have achieved the mastery (of the 10,000-Hour Rule) or not. Today, I have to do the best I can. The next day, I have to do even better. The day I stop trying to be better than the day before, I am dead.”

His unwavering commitment to excellence has helped to revive theatre arts, while serving as a learning pot for people seeking lessons on politics, marriage and business in a country where the three issues dominate news headlines.

That is not surprising, given that almost all of the Uncle Ebo Whyte's plays often mirror society and sometimes even attempt to predict happenings in the country.

But unlike others who set out to change society through their works, Uncle Ebo Whyte said on the Springboard Radio show on JOY FM on October 25, 2015, Your Virtual University, that the core objective of his works had been purely to entertain.

“My plays seek to entertain. I know that people coming to my plays come to have a good laugh and therefore I seek to give him/her a good life. Half of the time, what we need to craft a change in our lives in within us. A word or dialogue suddenly ministers to the participant,” he told the host, Rev. Albert Ocran. Any other thing, he said, had been a bonus.

"My plays seek to entertain. I think people have often been disappointed whenever I tell them that my primary objective is to entertain. I think they want me to say some 'nice, important' things but I say I direct plays to entertain," he explained.

"For the art, the primary job is to entertain but if you entertain well and you master the act of entertainment well, people will pick their own messages from it and they will use it for things and purposes far beyond what you intended it to be," he said on the show hosted by Reverend Albert Ocran.

The situation, he said, was even more apt in the country where work related pressures often take people away from their normal bearings.

"I'm aware that the person coming to watch the play has a lot on his/her plate. I don't know his or her world but I know that life is giving him or her a good whipping and so a good laugh will be useful. So, I give him a good laugh and because he laughs, he suddenly begins to say: 'You know what, I think I have been looking at this problem all in the wrong direction," he said.

The calling

Just like many people out there, Uncle Ebo Whyte has been gifted by God in the form of playwriting, which he has been applying to the benefit of society.

He said he traced the inspiration for his profession to the bible book of Isaiah, where God gave Prophet Isaiah an instructive tongue to save the weary and that has now become his calling and mission statement.

With that in mind, the founder of Roverman Productions said he set out knowing that "anything I say on any platform will help someone who has almost reached the end of his ways to pick himself up and say, yeah, I know I can do it now."

"From that point on, I realised what to pay attention to and what not to pay attention to; it reorganised my whole life,” he explained.

He said that he had been influenced by many artistes in the industry, having read the works of many Greek and other internationally acclaimed playwrights. These readings, he said, helped in shaping him into what he is today.

Business in arts

As a personal philosophy, Uncle Ebo Whyte does not charge for shows held in churches and schools. In the corporate world, however, he charges and does that at competitive rates.

That, he said, was informed by his earlier experiences when he decided to stage the show free of charge with the hope that people would voluntarily donate to help the cause.

"The things they gave are still with me; I hardly know what to use them for adding that Ghanaians were better at supporting people in kind instead of in cash. That attitude, he said, was disingenuous to the development of talents and the arts and entertainment industry in particular.