Naa Ashorkor leads ‘Five Hours with Mario’

Patrons will have a memorable day as Five Hours with Mario, an adaptation of Miguel Delibes’ novel which is a collaboration between celebrated Ghanaian playwright, LatifAbubakar and the Spanish Embassy in Accra shows today and Sunday.

The move is aimed at putting Ghana’s theatre industry on the world stage.

Speaking at the launch of the play at the Spanish Embassy, Mr Abubakar said “the Embassy’s decision to partner Globe Productions stems from a relationship between me and Ambassador Javier Gutterez, Spanish Ambassador to Ghana, who aims at deepening the Spain-Ghana relationship beyond traditional trade to arts and culture.”

The playwright whose interest is to project Ghana’s theatre industry to the world said the partnership would set Ghana on the world stage once again.

“As pacesetters of virtual live play on COVID-19 with a record 3.5 million live views as well as staging Ghana’s first open air theatre, our dream of projecting Ghana’s theatre industry beyond our country and continent is becoming a reality with the launch of this play,” he said.

The Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy, Mr Diego Spottorno, also said the Spanish Embassy was pleased to partner Mr Abubakar on this project.

He explained that the timing for the adaptation could not have been more appropriate, considering the challenges in the world today.

He said the adaptation of the play would mark the beginning of a great partnership between the Ghanaian and Spanish theatre industries.

Five Hours with Mario is one of the best and most popular Spanish novel, with touches of comedy by a renowned Spanish writer, Miguel Delibes.

The novel addresses two of the author’s favourite themes: the authenticity of rural life compared with life in the city, and death as the ultimate and definitive milestone in human life.

The play which is being adapted into a Ghanaian and Afrocentric stage play for the first time is expected to make an impact not only in Ghana and Spain but across the world.

By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme