Playwright Latif Abubakar storms Spain with "5hrs with Mario" Afrocentric play

Ghanaian Playwright Latif Abubakar and his Globe Productions Limited will thrill theatre lovers in Spain with his Afrocentric stage play version of Miguel Delibes' Five Hours With Mario novel Scheduled at the Centro Cultural, Casa de Vacas, at 6:00 p.m. local time, today.

The monologue play which features celebrated Ghanaian Actress,Naa Ashorkor, is 75 per cent sold out. 

12,000 plus audience

The play which has been staged a number of times at the Accra International Conference Center (AICC) in September 2022, attracted an impressive 10,000 plus audience. 

Subsequent editions which were staged at the Red Clay Studios in Tamale, and on the Volta Lake on the MV Dodi Princess, at Akosombo also attracted 2,000 plus audiences.

 Besides showcasing the Ghanaian culture and entertainment, the play which has been adapted into a Ghanaian and Afrocentric version for the first time, aims at deepening the Spain-Ghana relationship beyond traditional trade to arts and culture. 

Considered as a reflection of humanity, the play which is fused with music, comedy and drama also seeks to combine traditional and contemporary arts to explore the authenticity of rural life compared to life in the city.

 Credited with over 20 stage plays including “Thank God for Idiots”, “Romantic Nonsense”, “I Can't Think Far”, “You May Kiss the Corpse” and “The Second Coming of Nkrumah” Mr Abubakar said his dreams of projecting Ghana’s theatre industry beyond Ghana and the continent is becoming a reality. 

He said he expected that the production would not only make an impact in Spain but across the world. 

The celebrated playwright, who has successfully adapted two Spanish plays into Afrocentric versions, is also credited with staging a virtual live play on COVID-19 and Ghana’s first open-air theatre.

 Afrocentric version 

Originally written by Nobel Prize winner, Miguel Delibes to portray death as the ultimate and definitive milestone in human life, the play tells the story of Dzidzor, who after the death of her husband Mario, watches over his body and sheds light on their respective personalities and their conflicts throughout their marriage. 

The play is in partnership with the Spanish Embassy in Accra, the Embassy of Ghana in Spain, and The African Festival, with support from Graphic Communication Group Ltd and powered by Globe Productions Ltd.