Kwaw Ansah's 50-year-old play returns on Mother’s Day

It was a play written by well-known filmmaker, Kwaw Ansah, some 50 years ago, but its elements are still relevant to these times.

That’s why the National Drama Company based at the National Theatre, in collaboration with United Artists, are preparing to stage Mothers’s Tears on Saturday, May 9, and 10 at the National Theatre.

The play, which has been planned to coincide with the celebration of Mother’s Day this year, is being directed by Vivian Boateng, a Master’s in Directing student at the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana, Legon.It is about mothers and their eternal sacrifice to keep their families together and see their children progress in life.“After reading the play, I realised there were some interesting characters, moments and lessons in there which are relevant today.“I, however, still had to seek permission from the writer to put in a few things. With his help, we’ve done some few changes and we are eager for the public to see what we have,” said the director.Kwaw Ansah also said aspects of the play were based on real life situations and he was hoping they would make everyone appreciate the important roles our mothers play in shaping our lives.The cast includes experienced actors like David Dontoh, Dzifa Glikpoe, Abi Adatsi and Fred Amugi.Mawuli Semevor, acting director of the National Drama Company, said it was necessary to bring on some of the experienced actors to feature in the company’s work.“Some actors who belong to a certain era also have their following and it is important to bring them back to the stage to rekindle memories they have made on theatre lovers over the years,” Semevor pointed out in an interview with Graphic.com.gh.Some of the nation’s finest actors have played roles in Mother’s Tears over the past decades. They have included Omar Hunter, Martin Owusu, Mary Yirenkyi and Sandy Arkhust.Referring to the current cast, the play’s director also said they were professionals with reputation to protect and she hoped that would spur them on to give of their best.“Theatre has evolved quite charmingly in recent times so you cannot go out there and do just anything. It has to be excellent and we believe we have a good show coming up,” the director confidently said.