Gambia
Youth Actors Association, in collaboration with their Swedish partners,
Saturday staged a theatre show at the Ebunjan Theatre in Kanifing.
The play, entitled “Bumster Tobab”, was meant to bring the two countries together to share their culture.
The play Bumster Tobab is about Anna, a Swedish old woman who was depressed with marital issues and decided to come for holiday in The Gambia to ease her stress.
During her stay, she got a boyfriend called Bakary, who is a tourist driver and an entertainer at the hotel.
Anna’s husband came after her in The Gambia and during his stay, he was attracted to Fanta, Bakary’s wife, who is a waitress at the hotel.
Later on, Bakary’s friend, Doudou and Jenny, and Ana’s daughter, who later become friends, had to unfold the hidden secret to reunite the couples by encouraging a healthy relationship.
Speaking at the occasion, Anna Dellarud from Sweden said they met with Boe who is a member of the Gambia Youth Actors Association a year ago when they were on a tourist holiday.
She said she was working with the theatre in Sweden and they had a short play called “Sun Monkey” and they asked GAMYAA if they could come and play it for them.
They then came and met with Boe and others and they talked about the collaboration to do something together, Anna Dellarud said.
She said that was the time they started working on the idea and developed the play together, stating that the most important thing about the subject was they looked at it on both sides and brought the two different cultures into play.
Anna Dellarud further stated that when they go back to Sweden, they would develop more and put more Swedish culture in it, as well as the Gambian culture.
She revealed that they would invite the group to Sweden because they really want the project to be from both sides.
Boe Sawo, director of the play, said the concept behind the play is to bring the two nations together to share best practices, saying that Sweden and The Gambia coming together and working on such a play was a credit to him.
He said he met with Anna on the internet and saw one of his plays and become interested in his writings, and Anna later asked him for them to write a play, a comedy where they could enlighten people.
Mr Sawo said the theme would be on sex tourism but is not going to be a play, it is going to look at the negative aspect of it but in the other way round it is like making people understand that young bumsters are too friendly that people could judge their good intentions as bad, and those are the things they are trying to address in the play.
He said the main thing is about looking at the cultural sides of both countries, adding that in the play they are telling the young they could lead a decent life.
They are not discouraging them from being bumsters but there are ways and means of doing it, he said, while calling on stakeholders to come on board and sponsor such initiatives since the young people are trying their best.