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It was refreshing
that on a day saturated by the stifling hype and
super-commercialisation of Valentine’s Day with its attendant
manifestations of love, attention was temporarily shifted and focused,
thanks to a play. ‘A Few Good Men’, on the serious implications of
marriage and the search for bonding love and lasting partnerships, was
staged on February 14 at the Church Unusual in Benin City.

The unexpected
late-evening rain didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the audience for
Ejiro Onobrakpor’s sixth. The fair-sized audience was treated to a
well-crafted play. It employed novel multi-media techniques; in the
mixture of video projections, live music, songs and spoken words, to
put the message across as well as give the dramatic presentation more
texture and variety.

Onobrakpor is
himself multi-talented. A trained theatre arts practitioner, he also
attended the FAE Academy (International Film School) in Dubai in 2008.
What may be surprising is how Onobrakpor, who has been married to his
young medical doctor-wife for less than a year, was able to fashion
such an observant play that explores the intimate worlds of love and
marriage.

The motivation

He researched for
details, facts and figures for six months and; after the play had been
written, he rehearsed his cast for a month before their Valentine’s Day
performance. “I came across very amazing statistics that 50 percent of
every first marriage end in divorce; [the ratio is] 64 percent of every
second marriage and 75 percent of every third marriage. This proves
that experience is not the best teacher in marriage. It tells you that
it’s just like there are a few good men around or just a few good women
too.” He then adds the chilling reality of marriage and divorce in
Nigeria. “Nigeria has one of the highest rates of divorce in Africa. In
Zamfara State where I did my Youth Service, I noticed that although the
men are allowed to marry four wives, when they see a woman they like,
they knock off one of their wives to marry the new woman. And there are
no divorce certificates in Nigeria. I have a female relative who has
three children from three different men and she has no divorce
certificate from any of these marriages!” In a short address to the
audience before the start of the play, he lamented that there are no
good love songs around anymore. “Our parents use to write love letters
as expressions of love,” he observed. He told the audience that the
cast and crew of the play were “the most amazing,” he had worked with,
adding that, “stage drama is ten times more difficult than acting in
films.” He then promised the audience “a really amazing night that will
rekindle relationships.” He was right! To set the stage, popular
crooner Philip Ransome Bello sang a moving song, ‘Love Will Never Die’,
telling people to express love and, admitting that the most difficult
thing to say is ‘‘I Love You’’.

On the stage

It was an elaborate
set that featured many locations that were brought alive when needed by
lights. A screen at the side of the stage was used to beam video clips
that linked to the scenes performed on stage. At appropriate
opportunities the actors burst into songs, and they were accompanied by
a competent pianist whose touch could have been softer and his dynamics
more subtle on some occasions.

‘A Few Good Men’ –
a ten-cast play of characters in their late twenties and early
thirties, young and upwardly-mobile professionals – is creatively
well-worked-out with scenes in which the actors and actresses explore
various depths of relationships including love-triangles. In their
committed search, we are given real-life insights into social attitudes
and mindsets which have shaped their definition and understanding of
love.

The sexpot
songstress, Tina Turner had cynically asked in her megahit song,
‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?” As sketches of the ploys and plans of
the characters in ‘A Few Good Men’ to win love unfold, the audience is
given a big treat and feast of poignant one-liners which reveal the raw
slices of love and life, warts and all.

Matters of the
heart Fred, a 30-year-old banker, is preparing a romantic dinner;
candle lights and all, for his long-time girlfriend, Ivie a recent
graduate. Simultaneously, Philip, (31), an aspiring engineer, is
seething with anger that Ada, an engineer with a major oil company, is
three hours late for a special dinner date they had planned a month
ago. A row breaks out and Philip terminates the relationship. “This is
over,” he proclaims. Ivie, on the other hand has decided to break up
with Fred for really strange reasons laced with ‘feminine logic!’ “I
don’t want you to misunderstand what am about to say. Fred, you’re the
most amazing guy I’ve met, the nicest, in fact. I love you, but I’m not
in love with you!” Then she dropped the bombshell: “You call me too
much… A girl needs her space… You’re too nice, you annoy me. I’m sorry…
but this is not working for me!” Relationships over, Ada reasons that,
“Guys are not worth the trouble,” while Fred figures out that “Girls
are not worth the stress!” Of course all four move on into new
relationships. Fred is the butt of jokes from his male friends. Wale, a
scallywag and woman-abuser, teases Fred about Ivie, “Wait, you chop am
shah?” he asks cynically. Fred, described as “a no vows, no sex” person
by another friend, Obi, lives up to his billing with his informed
answer, “Sex is not a catalyst for a successful relationship!” In the
twists and turns of the play, Ivie ends up marrying Philip who had
earlier dumped Ada. Philip turns out to be a vicious wife-beater and
ironically it is Fred who rescues Ivie and takes her in her battered
state to find temporary refuge in Ada’s place. “You both seemed so
happy and content earlier,” Ada tells Ivie. “It was all PDA…Public
Display of Affection,” Ivie tells her. A group discussion examines
domestic violence and the need to lock up terrors like Philip, but the
option of Ivie leaving Philip is ruled out.

Eventually, Ada finds love and marries. Her verdict is profound.
“Love is not about looks or status. Love is about what you can give!”
“God is the teacher in all marriages,” Ejiro Onobrakpor concludes.