GOV'T TO START THEATRE SEASON TO REVAMP THEATRE IN GHANA

The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts is putting in place an initiative to revamp theatre in the country.

Ghana's theatre industry has taken a nose dive for some years now with several calls for it to be revamp to foster patriotism and national growth.

Theatre, some time passed, served as an important tool for education in Ghana. "That's how I learnt about patriotism," Deputy Minister for Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Dzifa Abla Gomashie-Ahiaglo affirmed in an interview on the Super Morning Show on Joy FM Friday.

The Deputy Minister agreed that, "in recent times, we haven't done that as much as we should. We haven't built on the foundation that was laid by our forebears."

"As a way to go, we need to use theatre to change the direction in which we are going and re-discover ourselves as Ghanaians," she said.

Dzifa Gomashie-Ahiaglo disclosed that what the ministry is seeking to do to revamp theatre in Ghana "is to encourage amateur groups and also the professional groups to start the theatre season."

The ministry, she added, is currently interacting with persons in the industry "to see how we can bring up plays that reflect what we want as a people."

The first Theatre Season is expected to start in September 2014 and it will be "replicated in the centres of national cultures across the regions," the Minister said.

This Dzifa Gomashie-Ahiaglo noted will help revive the love for theatre, groom a new crop of theatre performers, and also use theatre to change the mindset of Ghanaians.

As a way to support the initiative, the minister said the venues will be given to the amateur groups for free and also the resident drama company of the National Theatre will serve as resource persons to the amateur drama groups.