Monday, 17 December 2012

A NIGHT OF VERSATILITY-A REVIEW OF OKYEAME KWAME’S SHOW




The Versatile Show was a celebration of tradition, culture, arts and music as Okyeame Kwame
Showcased

When Okyeame Kwame spoke of giving Ghanaians one of the best spectacles the country will ever witness, some doubted because the promise appeared too ambitious. The combination of music, drama, dance, poetry looked a hectic task to execute.

But after Friday, 14th December, 2012 when the Versatile Show took place, patrons came to one conclusion: We (patrons) paid less and got more. He promised and over delivered.
Classic, epic, artistic, an exuberant display of culture and tradition:  that’s how the ‘Versatile Show’ could be summed. The late start of the show was undoubtedly compensated for by the sheer exhibition of versatility by all those who mounted the stage.

The show begun at 10 pm, 2 hours shy of the slated time. The first set of performances saw the ‘Rap Doctor’ perform some of his old classics- from Woso, Masan Aba, Menko Meda among other hits. This was preceded by a well choreographed dance by Noyam Dance Company, which saw Okyeame Kwame drop from the ‘sky’ in a fontomfrom drum. The entrance was so grand that Kojo Antwi (famed for his exotic entrances) will applaud.

The audience went gay during the second set of performances. Andy Dosty (Kwame’s DJ) turned the auditorium into one huge club, spinning different genres of music. The heat was turned on some notches higher when Slim Buster came on stage.

Akatakyie nearly douched the excitement but thanks to Old Soldier and Bradez who kept the excitement at an appreciable level. And when Richie joined Okyeame Kwame to perform Killing The Game, you knew the audience was not going to sit down. They sung, cheered and rapped along.

The third act was opened by Rhyme Sonny who got the audience spell-bound with his poetry recital. The highlight of the night was the dramatization of all 13 tracks on the Versatile Show album. The drama reflected the numerous faces of love relationship.

The acting put forth by Okeame Kwame and Raquel was intriguingly phenomenal. The two characters sung and acted out songs such as Woara, Sika (along with Kesse), Don’t Judge Me (with Vera), Faithful (with Bertha), White Wedding to the admiration of all.

And when Samini appeared in the course of the narrative and performed Where My Baby Dey, the 
euphoria reached a crescendo. At the end, when OK and Raquel had exchanged marriage vows, danced to Bradez Dondo and about to kiss, Funny Face emerges to interrupt the proceedings, something that elicited profound joy/laughter.

The Versatile Show radiated few glitches like quality of sound (sometimes the mic went off) and delays in changing from one scene to another. But that was overshadowed by the positives which include the use of lightening’ effects (use of background scenes) for each scene, flawless choreography and fireworks at the end were fantastic.

Okyeame Kwame has set the standard for the artistes to follow as far showmanship is concerned. Not only did he perform with live band (something many hip-life artistes are unable to do) but his brave attempt to incorporate music, dance, drama and poetry into one flawless performance is worth applauding.

The Versatile Show has emphatically put a wide gulf between Okyeame Kwame and other artistes and I doubt if anybody could dare to rival that.

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