Esther Goes Places

'DANIEL'- My Esthertaining Report

So, I went for DANIEL, a stage play by Snapshots, the drama group of Covenant ministry.  Covenant ministry is the pioneer and organizer of ‘The Platform Nigeria’.    DANIEL was written by award winning writer Philip Begho, directed by Duka Kachi and it starred Femi Branch, Mannie (Cool FM), Omonor and of course Snapshots.

Well, I couldn’t have missed the awoof offer.  My apola shoe and I were there live.  I even stayed to watch the second show.  You know I like aproko.  I just like to compare and analyze situations.  I wanted to compare the first show with the second show and I also wanted to see Femi Branch (not Brainard. I kept mixing up their surnames).  Like my mother would always yap me, ‘if them never pack chair I no dey comot for party’.

First, Daniel is a story set in ancient Babylon about 537BC.  The Play re-enacts the political intrigues that saw to Daniel’s eventual rise to the position of prime minister. The playwright takes us on a journey that shows the intricate web of deception plotted by the charming Hajitha- queen to DARIUS- the totalitarian and sovereign ruler of Babylon… 

*That’s all I can copy out from the 'long' synopsis in the brochure abeg.*

 

A lot of things caught my fancy but I’ll just analyze a few. 

I like the choreography and ‘things’ *hehehe*- very dramatic.  Choreography was done by the group ‘Alien nation’.      Alien nation is a word based dance crew that aims at inspiring young people to use their natural talents to benefit themselves and their community via the Arts.  They will be having a show titled ‘Ikechi’s covenant’ on the 20^th of October, 2013 at the Unilag Main Auditorium. See flier below for details. 

I hope I don't get sued for this cos 'them no send me message' o

There was also an outstanding performance by Benny, his hair (hehehe) and Ige.  Aside from his fine delivery on stage, I also get mesmerized by his hair.   Benny is a talented/unique spoken word poet and actor you should encounter some day.  And of course beautiful Ige never disappoints.  Her singing was in sync with the poetry done by Benny.

Oh! Mannie.  I didn’t know Mannie could act that well.  I believe he did a really good job. In fact by the end of the show, I was almost thinking ‘sheesh, Mannie is such an angry dude, but of course the Mannie we know from radio is nothing like that.  This just means he did a good job portraying the ‘Nimri’ character well.

Satala. I like both first show and second show Satalas.  But that 1^st show Satala, smh.  From the very first time that Satala appeared on stage, he reminded me of that very serpent that confused eve in the Garden of Eden.  He was really into the character; with the way he hurled his slim self around the stage trying to put poor Daniel into trouble.  That guy was such a good Satala.

Queen Hajitha.  I love both queens.  I think they are both beautiful.  First queen was such a pretty queen fa.  She did a really good job.  She did her best.  She would make a very fine actress.  It was obvious the second queen Hajitha is an actress, I like the way she was able to project correctly the right gesture to every sentence, very dramatic queen.

The Butler (1^st show butler).  That dude was the one that caught my attention the most.   He was so into the drama as much as the main characters were.  I didn’t see him get distracted or carried away all through the play. He was very involved and his appearance matched the mood of every scene whether he was just standing or doing his duty of serving wine. That dude got me wondering if he really worked at the VIP section of Eko Hotel.  I think he is a good actor.

What I learnt

I liked how Daniel in an intelligent way put the king in his place when he was confronted for being disloyal by worshipping another ‘god’- his GOD.  Never have I seen it that way.  He was not aggressive about it nor was he disrespectful to the king even as he explained to him that his God is his source and God is the lifter of all men.  He was actually evangelizing!  I see this Daniel in the bible too whenever I study the book of Daniel.  I get a picture of a very intelligent and hardworking Daniel who is also a calm and sensible man.  He would not flaunt his boss’ orders but has placed his God above all and he won’t hesitate to stand out- with no apologies.  He wouldn’t sell his soul for honor or luxury.  He won’t alter his lifestyle to suit or please men.  The law of God is the guide to his daily living. He was earthly relevant but most definitely heavenly conscious. He was a solution provider and a change agent.