Broadway glamour at Ebonies’ premiere
Oct 05, 2008
ALL roads led to Theatre La Bonita on Eid Day last Tuesday as hundreds of theatre fans thronged the place to witness the launch of the group’s new play, Societal Equilibrium.
By Nigel Nassar
ALL roads led to Theatre La Bonita on Eid Day last Tuesday as hundreds of theatre fans thronged the place to witness the launch of the group’s new play, Societal Equilibrium.
And since the launch took place on the day Muslims celebrated the end of the month of Ramadhan, guests were treated to a red carpet welcome and free drinks before being ushered into the theatre.
The Ebonies arrived aboard chauffeured Mercedes Benzes about an hour before they took to the stage.
It was a spectacle typical of Broadway when a new hit play is premiering.
The theatre, that seats 760 patrons was filled to capacity. More seats had to be brought in from the facility’s Spectrum @La Bonita and Café La Bonita to accommodate more than 300 excess patrons.
And true to red carpet treatment and an overwhelming turn up, the play, which will be staged again on Independence Day at 7:00pm, fitted the billing.
Its main themes: inequality, injustice and exploitation of the poor by the rich, lay bare what is happening in today’s world. At some point, you imagined that its director JWK Ssembajjwe, had a peek into your life.
Using stories from different personalities, Societal Equilibrium relives the extent to which poverty has penetrated society. Not that everyone is poor.
Ssembajjwe goes out of his way to show how the rich exploit the poor to get richer, hence widening the gap between the two worlds.
You find yourself crying with the aging Mzee Katantazi, whose architectural skills are being exploited by a tycoon for a paltry sum that cannot pay for the disabled man and his daughter’s meals for two days. The group’s newcomer, Bison Katantazi, pulls off this role with expertise.
Interestingly, the kid who very convincingly acts as his daughter, is a boy (Sharif Mugerwa).
Paul Jjingo is hilarious. The romantic scene at the beach is believable and the logic in its plot is so deep-rooted, that it will make you forgive the play’s flaws.
Spiced up by shots taken on the group’s recent visit to Dubai, Sweden and Switzerland, Societal Equilibrium will be worth your Independence Day family outing.
ALL roads led to Theatre La Bonita on Eid Day last Tuesday as hundreds of theatre fans thronged the place to witness the launch of the group’s new play, Societal Equilibrium.
And since the launch took place on the day Muslims celebrated the end of the month of Ramadhan, guests were treated to a red carpet welcome and free drinks before being ushered into the theatre.
The Ebonies arrived aboard chauffeured Mercedes Benzes about an hour before they took to the stage.
It was a spectacle typical of Broadway when a new hit play is premiering.
The theatre, that seats 760 patrons was filled to capacity. More seats had to be brought in from the facility’s Spectrum @La Bonita and Café La Bonita to accommodate more than 300 excess patrons.
And true to red carpet treatment and an overwhelming turn up, the play, which will be staged again on Independence Day at 7:00pm, fitted the billing.
Its main themes: inequality, injustice and exploitation of the poor by the rich, lay bare what is happening in today’s world. At some point, you imagined that its director JWK Ssembajjwe, had a peek into your life.
Using stories from different personalities, Societal Equilibrium relives the extent to which poverty has penetrated society. Not that everyone is poor.
Ssembajjwe goes out of his way to show how the rich exploit the poor to get richer, hence widening the gap between the two worlds.
You find yourself crying with the aging Mzee Katantazi, whose architectural skills are being exploited by a tycoon for a paltry sum that cannot pay for the disabled man and his daughter’s meals for two days. The group’s newcomer, Bison Katantazi, pulls off this role with expertise.
Interestingly, the kid who very convincingly acts as his daughter, is a boy (Sharif Mugerwa).
Paul Jjingo is hilarious. The romantic scene at the beach is believable and the logic in its plot is so deep-rooted, that it will make you forgive the play’s flaws.
Spiced up by shots taken on the group’s recent visit to Dubai, Sweden and Switzerland, Societal Equilibrium will be worth your Independence Day family outing.