ACCORDING to Vanessa Williams Singer, a
former United States of America beauty queen, “everybody wishes they can erase
their mistakes. But that is not how life works.” For Inua Ellams those mistakes
of the past, though multifarious, can be hilarious told for people to learn
from them.
This spoken word artist did just
that when during the British Council organised Lagos Theatre Festival, which
was held recently, he presented The 14th
Tale.
Embracing the finesse of language Ellams
tells the story of a young Black boy growing up in three cultures across the
globe.
Opening with a man sitting on a
single hard-backed chair, shirt and trouser stain with blood, he anxiously
awaits someone, probably the receptionist, to tell him the true health
condition of his father, whom he brought to the hospital.
As he waits, sometime barking orders at
the people and sometimes also taking instructions or apologising for his unruly
behaviour, one expects to hear another horrific tale of a young Black man
humiliated in London, but instead Ellams provides a complex tale of his family
life, friendship, hate and love.
The tale, a sequence of autobiographical
sketches, takes him from the dusty roads in Nigeria to a London classroom, then
to the streets of Dublin, racing back at intervals to a moment where he sits
jumpily in a hospital reception, waiting to hear from the receptionist or any
medics about his father.
Ellams narrative is fleshed out
by his agile shimmying across the stage, arousing fellow feeling and evoking
mood. Recalling he is heritage in rhythmic poetry Ellams says, I come from a
long line of troublemakers, of ash skinned Africans, born with clenched fist
and a natural thirst for battle.” He reveals how his grandfather and father
were infamous in their village for their troublesome tricks.
CLEARLY
intent on upholding his birthright, he causes trouble wherever he goes and
invariably gets caught.
Though Ellams only makes a glance
references to racism, emigration and displacement, these themes, however, form
the backdrop to a narrative that focuses on his rebellion as a child and
teenager with an irrepressible disruptiveness inherited from his father and
grandfather.
Regardless of how
evoking and poignant the narrative seems, some of the pranks such as provoking
the wrath of a ‘hurricane nun’ in Bible class, coating the bedclothes of a
boarding school enemy with toothpaste are laughable, while the likes of
urinating against the school wall setting thumb tracks on the way of his
secondary school senior that bullied him or playing basketball with mates on
the rooftop in Dublin seem relatively tame.
On the whole, despite their
geographical locations, the men of Ellams family have a common
denominator — mischief.
Produced by Fuel Theatre Company,
but written and directed by Inua Ellams (himself), the monologue reveals a
strong ties between Ellams and his father; a relationship that would have
further given the audience a better understanding of him (Ellams’ father) and
the tale had he been exposed.
There is also a need for the tense
moments to take us past the genuinely charming story teller and unveils the
person telling his family story in a tee shirt and trouser stained with blood. 
With the lighting appropriately
projecting the different locations and creating nostalgic feelings, Fela’s
music at the background further brings to life that wistfulness to the
listener, conjuring the restive traits common among the men in Ellams’ lineage.
Also of note, is the venue, Casa
Chianti Restaurant, which is too small and poorly ventilated to accommodate
large number of people. Aside from
this, the stage is low with clustered chairs that make the audience to stretch
their necks to catch a better view of the performance; besides it would have
been a better space for musical performance.
On the whole The 14th Tale showcases a story of a man grounded in his
past, proud of his heritage and mixed cultural upbringing.