It’s always exciting to discover a playwright whose work we don’t know, so we’re thankful that the AfriCan Theatre Ensemble is staging a double bill of works by Femi Osofisan called Season Of Wrath And Play…

The Engagement]: Director Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu emphasizes the physical comedy of the piece... Otu's added another character, too, the Spirit of the House (Mustapha Lawal), a musician who says not a word but communicates through percussion sounds and facial expressions. That fourth figure is welcome, given the amount of music and dance in the piece. Not only are the characters connected through their personal history of singing together, but they also reveal their ancestry and an oral history of their past in song.

The companion piece, Flood!, is a more serious work, a confrontation between the traditional and the modern, the moral and the immoral. On the banks of the river Oya (the Yoruba name for the Niger), a father (John Phillips) awaits aflood that will likely destroy the home he’s lived in for decades. His son (Chisom Darlington) returns after years away, a politically powerful but devious man, ostensibly to save his father but actually for a more selfish reason. Directors Jude Idada and Awoba Bob-Manuel give what was originally a radio play an abstract but powerful staging,using light and sound to create a world of mysterious elemental powers and human selfishness..

The Engagement

This hilarious performance had us rolling in the aisles. Akinfemi shines as the exasperated Chief Medayekan; John is wonderfully expressive and physical as his stubborn daughter Ronke; Millen hams it up (perhaps a little too much) as the neurotic Elemude; and The Spirit of the House (Mustapha Lawal) set the mood with his rhythmic drumming. The colourful set, beautiful costumes, music and poetry really complement Osofisan’s lyrical script. This is a light-hearted, universal story that will appeal to people everywhere.

Flood!

The second play in this double-bill shows a different side of Osofisan’s work. Flood! is an intense generational face-off between father and son. In the midst of a raging flood, Osumare (played by Chisom Darlington) turns up at his father’s doorstep and begs him to save himself. His father refuses to go, leaving his fate in the hands of “the goddess.” As the water begins to rise, so does the tension between them — the father’s traditional beliefs vs. his son’s modern morality — and we wonder if they will ever escape. Flood! is a commentary on power, politics and the relationship between man and nature. Both Phillips and Chisom give powerful performances, covering a lot of ground in a short time. We sense danger around the corner as billows of dry ice creep along the floor boards. Suspenseful and though provoking, this piece is a nice contrast to The Engagement. AfriCan Theatre Ensemble offers a unique and engaging theatre experience

... The performers in The Engagement were all quite animated, and I enjoyed the way it’s presented as a mating dance. When Ronke (Janine John) and Elemude (Ari Millen) start bickering, they actually start sniffing and pecking like a rooster and a hen. Also fun was the drummer who doesn’t speak (though the characters do acknowledge him), but provides the play with a soundtrack. The Engagement offers a good opportunity to see some authentic African drumming and singing.

The second piece, Flood, takes a completely different tone. Where The Engagement is bright and colourful, Flood is bare and dark. This short piece had a lot of story for only being 30 minutes long.

When a flood strikes an African village, a son (Chisom Darlington) comes to rescue his father (John Phillips), only to find out that the elder doesn’t want to leave his home. The father clings to his memories and belief that the “goddess” will protect him, while the son tries to point out the realities in front of them. This is your basic “family secrets” play, but I enjoyed Osofisan’s take on it. There was one point in the story where an audio recording was a little difficult to hear, but otherwise I thought it was a strong production...

As someone who watches a lot of theatre in this town, there are still so many companies yet to discover. And it’s always a treat to discover one as entertaining and professional as this one. I would certainly seek out more work by AfriCan Theatre Ensemble, and I think this double bill is a good intro because as the name suggests, you get to see some wrath and a little bit of play, so something is guaranteed to suit your appetite

Along with the wonderful chorus and musicians...The Marriage of Anansewa with its singing and dancing, features Mimi Amatu's gorgeous costumes and Patience Mpumlwana's choreography.

...The Marriage of Anansewa is considered one of her best. It's being presented by the AfriCan Theatre Ensemble in a colorful version that uses lots of music and an irresistible chorus...

The Marriage of Anansewa is a marriage made in heaven

There's a wonderful warmth and immediacy to the writing; South African Gcina Mhlophe has apparently drawn on her own experience to craft this popular play, which made its Canadian debut... at the Workman Theatre.

….  two luminous performances – by Toronto's d'bi young anitafrika as Zandile and by Nigerian movie star Joke Silva as the grandmother (and in various other roles, including the mother).

"The oh-so talented d'bi young is simply magnificent as she moves from exuberant eight-year-old, through the worries and insecurities of puberty and matures into a delightful 18-year-old determined to find her Gogo."

Silva is an equally charismatic presence in a grounded performance that is remarkable for its love and detail. And there's good work too from the third member of the cast – Olivia Duodu, who plays Zandile's giggly friend Lindiwe.

The performances triumph…

It is not often that one sees African theatre executed by Canadian actors with such authenticity… As a Fanti man living in Canada for well over twenty years, I was heartened to witness the flawless production of AfriCan Theatre Ensemble’s Ghanaian drama, Anowa. The play, brilliantly directed by Rhoma Spencer and choreographed by Ghanaian Albert Otto, has brought a slice of Ghana’s history to the local stage… I sat at Artword Theatre, immensely transformed into my country. I can almost smell its earth… AfriCan Theatre Ensemble is in its fifth season, I am told, yet this is the first time I have seen their work. I have no doubt that this is a company to take notice of, if only to experience live homegrown African theatre in Toronto. And at once I can feel a sense of belonging.

Ghanaian writer Ama Ata Aidoo’s Anowa filters the tragedy of African slavery through a striking prism, showing how it becomes a curse not only for slaves but also their enslavers. The play goes even deeper… Rhoma Spencer directs an impressive production, drawing on song, dance and drumming … to provide an authentically atmospheric background for the story… [T]his production proves that AfriCan Theatre Ensemble … can deliver the dramatic goods

The multi-talented AfriCan Theatre Ensemble offers some holiday magic with Market of Tales, a cornucopia of colorful folk tales, history, story-songs, dance-drama, poems, and music. Market of Tales is set in a typical African marketplace with its rich variegated colors and textures in the costumes and set design by Judith Sandiford. There is great joy in the tales and a wide range of emotions rendered by the fine ensemble work of Seifu Belachew, Alexandra Drossos, Teddy Masuku, Muoi Nene, Aktina Stathaki and Selam Teclu. It's impossible to single out any performer for special notice. Director/Dramaturge Ronald Weihs has put together this fine group of actor/dancers and guided the production through to a wonderfully entertaining 90-minutes, culminating with a historical story that needs no re-telling nor embellishment, the story of village boy that grew to lead a nation, Nelson Mandela. You couldn't ask for a better finale than that. 

The richness of African tales well blended with songs, dance and celebration was a constant trend and hallmarked the beauty of the production. With songs sung in several African languages from Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic, Ethiopia and South Africa, the production has an appeal that is broad and reconciliatory.

Many worthy productions come to us from Africa, but Market of Tales has been created by mostly African immigrants living here. That makes the play part of us, part of multicultural Toronto. After seeing this marvelous production where Africans tell their own stories under the wise direction of Ronald Weihs, I wanted to run out and bang a big drum and announce to the world that this is an important play. Told through joyous music, text and movement, the stories come from both African mythology and real life. The cast is exuberant and Judith Sandiford’s colourful design is stunning. So grab your child and your grandmother and rush to see this dazzling ensemble.

. . . an engaging brocade of pan-African folk tales that entertains and emotes through song, dance and near-constant movement. A current of percussive physicality runs throughout, with vignettes crosscut with raucous, stomp-heavy dance sequences . . . vibrant, colourful stuff.