It was an awesome family experience of theatre for kids.
"Ohh, it was impressive. Amazing. I mean, I didn't know what to expect when I first came
in but soon as the curtains went up, it was an amazing experience. The kids loved it. I loved it. I would recommend every parent to come along with their kids every year to see this."
"Brilliant. Just Brilliant. I loved their rendition of the wisdom pot story. A great way to teach IT to kids"
"I learnt that we must share because sharing is caring."
These were some of the rare reviews from both parents and kids after the December 2021edition of "Time with Ananse" show at the Silverbird cinemas, Accra.
It was nothing short of a successful night of traditional story telling specially brewed for
the delight of children and parents alike. It was a display of home grown talent 'begging' for
a much needed wider interest and attention. Personally speaking, parables animation studios is gradually becoming synonymous to great family entertainment like we have never seen before in this beloved country of ours, bridging the gap between centuries old tradition with a hint of modernism. If you ask me, it was classic.
As the gates were braced with long queues of adoring fans, it wasn't long before the seats
were filled up, lights went out and the fun begun. The highlights of the show this year, was
the retelling of the classic story of 'Ananse and the wisdom pot', rebranded, “the wisdom App" to add a modernized and digitalized twist to the tale. This rendition saw Kweku Ananse building the internet with the hope of weaving the world wide web to connect everyone to the nuggets of wisdom resting in his data center for free. well? Thanks to the all attentive young audience, Kweku was caught in the midst of his acts of mischief.
This for me was brilliant because the organizers have managed to created an important
connection between rich culture and technology. A crucial shift in an attempt to make an old traditional story relevant to a more sophisticated youth. One thing is for certain, while ensuring our young ones are introduced to inspiring role models they can relate to, the show is also successful at making sure our rich history/culture is not submerged by the influx of western influences. With children this excited about their own history and culture, the future can be described as nothing but bright.
Parables animation studios is unto into something really big here. The potential of this show is one that could easily compete with the very best of shows out there at the moment, if and only if Ghanaians would start to pay attention to 'Time with Ananse' and give it the time of day they give other foreign productions. We must all begin to put our own first, invest in ourselves and the immense talent available within the country, make it so good we can begin to export our products as opposed to importing them, after all, imports create deficit, not exports.
This Easter, after the church services and the fat chicken on the table has been reduced to bones, and the sobolo bottles emptied, every family, young and old, should make their way to the silver birds cinemas Accra, for another night of great story telling using live stage performances, oratory, puppetry, cutting edge animation that is not just entertaining but educative. It will leave you feeling proud to be Ghanaian and also an African.
Congratulations to great hardworking team at Parables animation studios and Junior Graphic for pulling this off year after year. A big hats off to ‘Silverbird cinemas’, ‘Lets be kids’, ‘kairos Africa’ and ‘Nutrisnax’ for extending a supporting arm to put a smile on all the little and big fans of Ananse. Long live.
By Kwesi Andoh