Between June 9 and 11, a team from Okere City’s adult learning centre entertained their National Theatre audience with Echoes of Lawino.
The play is a rendition of Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol by Okot P’Bitek. Echoes of Lawino describes the lamentations of an African woman over the cultural alteration of her western educated husband – Ocol (performed by Ojok Okello). Lawino wonders why her husband now despises everything African in his home country. Ocol despises the food, dress code, language etc. He prefers these newfound Western ways.
From the city, Ocol returns with Clementine his new lover. Unlike Lawino who has been bred in the ways of her people as a traditional woman, Clementine is educated, speaks her mind, and espouses other attributes of Western culture.
Unlike in the original play where Clementine was passive, Ojok Okello the executive producer of the play said they were deliberate at creating a present educated woman to engage in dialogues with both Ocol and Lawino. He said that it was prudent for the audience to appreciate that the role of the African woman is now beyond the kitchen.
“A woman educated in Western ways can still make a good wife…we wanted to create a 21st-century lady. Clementine had to become the embodiment of a strong, hardworking woman, which is the majority today”.
The ladies and men from Okere City did justice to the interludes, most of which were in Lango. The mastery of the musical instruments, especially the adungu and drums gave the audience a rare feel of the traditional Lango community and their music.
In Song of Ocol, Lawino’s husband attempts to justify his cultural abandonment. His pleas instead fell on Lawino’s deaf ears. In his attempt to impress Lawino that his newfound education has meaning, Ocol makes a speech in which he ironically lambasts the Western powers for granting African countries pseudo-independence; lambasts the leaders who have stolen iron sheets aimed at helping the vulnerable poor, and ostracizes the local politicians who have resorted to buying four-wheel drive vehicles instead of fixing the potholes in the city and the messy roads in the countryside.
The deliberate adoption of today’s problems made a play that has been in circulation for approximately five decades, more relatable. In attendance were politicians, leaders of several non-governmental organizations, and members of academia.
Speaking to The Observer, Okello said it had taken his team a year to execute their work.
“Since we have been celebrating heroes, this was one of our ways as Okere City to celebrate P’Bitek, one of our courageous literary heroes. He would have turned 92 this year. Although our adult education center has 200 women and men, we only brought 40 of them. We have a great belief that well-mobilized communities can use their culture and identity for their transformation”.
Source: The Observer
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