The University of Ghana is celebrating its 75th anniversary with various activities, and the Department of Theatre Arts, School of Performing Arts, has staged a play titled “Song of Pharaoh” to mark the occasion.
The classic Abibigro play, written by alumnus and former faculty member Mohammed Ibn Abdullah, is being directed by alumna and current Head of the Department of Theatre Arts, Sarah Dorgbadzi.
Members of the University community are invited to witness this masterpiece at the Amphitheatre behind Commonwealth Hall. The play is scheduled to run from 11th May to 14th May and again from 18th to 21st May 2023, with the opening night beginning promptly at 7:00 pm.
The play promises to be an entertaining and thought-provoking experience for all who attend.
This play is just one of many events planned to mark the University’s 75th anniversary, which has been a momentous occasion for the institution and its stakeholders. The University of Ghana has been a leader in higher education on the African continent, and this milestone anniversary is a testament to its continued excellence and commitment to education and the arts.
Find synopsis below
To get a re-lease of life, Amunhotep Son of Hapu has finally received the last ingredients to make the sacred potion that allows him to transmute through time; back and forth, forth and back to choose and impregnate his own next mother.
Song of the Pharaoh is a timeless story of love, politics and religious intrigue set in ancient Egypt. This epic story recounts the rise and fall of Akhnaten the tenth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt and recants the mythical Greek origins of what has come to be known as the story of Oedipus the King. Akhnaten is a young pharaoh who fights to change the direction of his kingdom.
He marries his childhood friend, the famed beauty Nefertite and they vie with their uncles for religious and political supremacy of the nation. History tells us that Akhnaten is the first known proponent of a monotheistic religion that conflicts with older forms of polytheistic worship. Despite their good intentions, fervour and fanaticism threaten to bring down the young rulers and their vision of the future. In the final scene, the struggle continues as Akhnaten leads a procession of followers into exile as his newly built “City of Light” sinks into the desert.
The play imagines a spectacular Pan-African aesthetic that creatively blends eclectic music and dance styles from Ghana and Africa. The characters are shadowed by three storytellers and a time-traveling spiritual, historian who narrate the tale and mediate among the audience, actors, and the characters. As they move between the past and the present, the story of ancient times blends with critical portrayals of modern postcolonial struggle.
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Story by: Kelly Adjetey Boye | univers.ug.edu.gh
