OSIA by Jijo Quayson, directed by Brad Fraser, with Nicole Nwokolo, Chemika Bennett-Heath, Paul Ohonsi, Chiamaka G. Ugwu and Roshawn Balgrove. Presented by Kukua Productions/SummerWorks at Factory Theatre Mainspace (125 Bathurst). August 5 at 7:30 pm, August 6 at 6:30 pm, August 8 at 5 pm, August 10 at 6:15 pm, August 11 at 10:30 pm, August 13 at 1 pm, August 14 at 10:15 pm. $15. 416-320-5779, summerworks.ca.
In debuting playwright Jijo Quayson’s Osia, the bright dreams of a Ghanaian family darken as reality intrudes into their world.
At the play’s centre is the young Harmosia, who lives in fantasy as much as in the everyday. Cared for by her mother and an uncle who plans to take the family to America after he completes some secretive, shady business deals, she dreams of being a princess.
“Both the family and the community in which they live are small and tight knit,” says the playwright, whose love for theatre goes back to her childhood. “All of the characters have fixations on their private dreams, means to escape their everyday lives.”
One of her favourite characters is Bernice, a gossipy, church-going neighbour.
“Early drafts had more characters than the current script, and Bernice was born when I merged two of them into a figure who’s attached to religion but also sticks her nose into other people’s business. I enjoyed writing her because she’s such a mess of contradictions she’s funny in her own right, even before she starts interacting with the others.”
A number of impressive mentors have helped in the development of Osia. Quayson began the piece in Djanet Sears’s writing class at the U of T, where students were asked to use a series of word prompts to create a monologue.
“I wrote the assignment the day before it was due,” recalls Quayson, “and wasn’t sure whether I should hand it in because it contained so much poetry. But Osia’s voice was there from the start, with vivid images that became themes of the play, among them water, storytelling and dreaming.”
As the piece was being developed, Brad Fraser heard a reading of the script and became another of its advocates – he directs the SummerWorks show – and at a later stage Quayson worked on it at Nightwood with Andrea Donaldson. Sears, Fraser and Donaldson are credited with dramaturgy.
“Working with these three guides helped me finesse my ideas, especially in terms of focusing on the cultural specifics of Ghanaian society as a starting point for the story.”
Involved in other arts projects, Quayson works as community arts manager for the Paprika Festival, helping youth in the Regent Park community express themselves through the arts. She finds some unifying elements in the worlds of Paprika and SummerWorks.
“One of the highlights of both theatre activities has been working with actors of African and Caribbean heritage. It’s important to increase diversity on the stage, and I find real excitement in creating shows that feature black artists.”
