A stage-play by Yadah Productions

Of course, I had watched plays from established productions like Roverman and Village Minds, but Yadah Productions I had never heard of.

That increased my urge to go and watch the play ‘Blue black’. The scheduled time for the start of the play was 7:00PM but the time elapsed and the auditorium was still almost empty.

As at 7:20PM the show had still not started and there were no signs of people trooping in. That got me really thinking as to whether it was worth it coming to watch the play.

But by 10PM, I knew my time at the National Theatre was worth every penny. The stage-act was near perfect, and audience present could not hide their appreciation as the applauds rang from all angles.

The stage-play ‘Blue Black’ is one that does not just follow the normal pattern. It is themed on a church choir who were being groomed for an international competition.

But like in most plays, ‘Blue Black’ weaves comedy, poetry and drama to great effect. If you have never seen a chorister with a bad voice, then you should have seen this play.

The story talks about a lady called Nunana – leader of the church choir – who had a great voice but was ultimately undone by her arrogance and insubordination.

With the international competition looming, Nunana was supposed to be the lifeline for her church choir. But she relegated her role with the church choir to pursue her personal ambition of becoming a solo artiste.

I’m sure by now you must be wondering where the name ‘Blue Black’ came from. Wait no more!

Blue Black is the name of a poor girl who cleans the church on a daily basis. Her penchant for wearing only blue and black dresses earned her that particular nickname. Although her real name was Shidaa, the lack of respect from the church members and choristers made her more of an outcast.

But what do you expect when she has this nauseating smell all around her? Her smell simply sent people away from her, and the closer they tried to get to her, the farther they found themselves due to her body odour. In short, no one liked to be near her.

If you are wondering what Shidaa’s role was in the play, then brace yourself for the big surprise. She actually turned out to be the ‘saviour’ of the church choir!

With Nunana rejecting the chance to lead the choir into the competition, all hope was almost lost. But from nowhere ‘Blue Black’ – the smelly cleaner – replaced her and led the choir to victory.

But the subplot in this play also has other interesting characters.

There is the choir master – Paul – whose character made him a toast of the audience. With a combination of thrilling lines he made the whole auditorium of the National Theatre fun-filled, with laughter cringing the entire atmosphere.

There is also the scene which sees two men – one dressed as an angel of God and the other like a demon – who tried to derail Shidaa from following God’s plans for her.

Another scene sees various characters in the choir take on each other in hilarious fashion.

In all it was a great show put together by YadahProductions, and aside the late start to the show, all fans left really fulfilled and satisfied.

That is best typified by how full the auditorium of the National Theatre was when the stage-play came to an end.

The stage-play ‘Blue Black’ was a real eye opener, and I entreat every lover of plays not to miss any other act put together by Yadah Productions. The event organizers confirmed that ‘Blue Black’ might be repeated in the coming months, so be on the look out and don’t miss it.