Our Stories Should Go Beyond Comedy - Kobina Ansah, Theatre Producer

Drama in the theatre has been an instrument for bringing about social change and development.

In a recent discussion on The Impact of Theatre and Live Stage Plays, Playwriter and Theatre Producer, Kobina Ansah, advised writers to create storylines that aim to stir viewers' consciences. He contends that rather than just making people laugh, the stories must highlight important national problems to the populace and cause them to work towards resolutions.

He spoke on 3Music TV’s Culture Daily saying, “If you take a critical look at the plays happening, you get to know that they are all comedy. If we are looking at people flooding the theatres to come to see our plays, then it means that we should be able to tell stories that will challenge them. I’m looking at stories that can generate national conversations or even international conversations. We can use theatre to start change. For example FIX THE COUNTRY, the theatre could have been one of the platforms through which we could have communicated this message. So we should be able to get to the point where our stories are beyond comedy.”

In his submission, the producer made it clear that he is not disparaging the comedy genre but rather advocating for a balance between comedy and writing that inspires societal change.

“I’m not in any way trying to downplay the purpose of comedy in storytelling. Can we have plays on more serious issues using the same comedy to tell those stories? So people don’t just come to the theatre and they know that they can predict the storyline. It’s going to be about someone cheating on the wife or it’s going to be about a family or a home. There are so many important issues in society that we can use the same comedy to talk about. There’s rape, fraud, galamsey and so much more. If a play is about to be staged, everyone is on the alert that these people are going to talk about issues that are going to put the government and society on their toes. It is about balancing the story you are telling so that people don’t always come to the theatre and know that these people are going to do comedy.”

Kobina Ansah also called for financial support from the government and other private institutions to boost production and ensure their success.