ME MARLEY & I Hot

TEST A YAW ASIYAMA PLAY:
In the 1970's and 80's there were there was a season of violent military uprising in various African countries. It seemed that the Gun was the only way governments were prepared to relinquish power. The insanity of this situation was and still is that, civilians very regularly got caught in the cross fire. Military justice usually involved a bullet from the logic of someone who had not even bothered to learn to spell their own names. These soldier, who often seized power with the most noble of intentions ended up as an evil parody of the people they preceded. It was an Orwellian Animal Farm played to the rhythm of the Uzi and AK 47. Revenge was traded in the currency of bullets and threats. Who was foolish enough to remind a man with a gun that he broke a promise? States collapsed, families perished. Old scores were settled while neighbors plugged their ears with their fingers and kept eyes firmly shut. What you did not see or hear, you could not tell.
Bad things always happen in foreign lands, till you find out that yours is a foreign land to others. The people of Ghana believed we were a people who would never rise to that level of violence. Well for a while, some of us did. A revolution with ideals often require the help of foot soldiers with totally different agenda. So though the words were spoken, before they hit our ears, the promises were broken in kelidoscopic ways around the country.
These were the times I grew up in. A life of privilege that was a trigger finger away from obliteration. I was brought up too well not to question what was not right.That was not a positive survival trait in angry times. Teenagers with opinions were an endangered species.
My only saving grace in those times was the wisdom of my grandmother, the power of first love and my total immersion into Marley's Music. Everything's Gonna Be alright!
Me Marley and I is a bitter sweet portrait of survival in a different time.This play brings to life a different time in a different culture with great friendships, courage and sacrifice. Gloriously funny and warm, this true story jolts sharply into focus with the horror of living through an African revolution.