To help rekindle the good old flame of the natural and indigenous Ghanaian theatre, which appears to be running into extinction with the birth of the new age, a fete of oral arts, Adesa Festival, has been instituted by Philjoe Multimedia & Play House.kom.
Adesa Festival planned to be an annual event, hopes to engage the old and young artistes who are in the businesses of oral arts—storytelling, poetry, music, comedy, video screening and other spoken arts—in conversations, workshops, round table discussions, exhibition and performances.
This year’s edition (maiden) besides featuring conversations, workshops and interviews with legends & teachers of Ghanaian Folk & Spoken art as Prof. Kofi Anyidoho, Grace Omaboe (a.k.a Maame Dokono), Prof. Lade Wosornu, Dr. Mawuli Adjei and with young artistes as Chieff Moomen, Oswald Okaitei, Nana Yaa Yeboaa, Nana Asaase, Nii Commey, Theophilus Nii Adjei Badger, among others (who are blazing the new dawn trail), will also feature A Conversation with some Oral Arts icons in Ghana—the legendary Amandzeba Nat (ive) Brew and Abeiku Santana.
The festival will also host Jamestown Reads! with Nana Yaa Yeboaa (a Ghanaian Children’s Book Author, poet & Nurse based in Canada), Poetry Therapy with Naa Kwarley Dove, conversation with some old cast members & crew of the former famous Ghana Television storytelling programme, ‘By The Fireside’, Conversations with Resource persons in National institutions in charge of arts & acts in Ghana and Fisher folk’s Musical Procession, among others.
Another interesting segment will be a tribute moment for the creative legends/icons—Prof. Atukwei Okai, Dr. Kobena Eyi Acquah, Kojo Laing, Jewel Ackah, CK Man, Paapa Yankson & Nana Turkson—who passed on this year.