By Egufe Yafugborhi

PORT HARCOURT – THEATER lovers in Rivers state had much to cheer as Nollywood veterans including home girl, Monalisa Chinda, Ejike Asiegbu and Francis Duru, again, dazzled the audience when Philomena, a stage play written and directed by equally old school Bimbo Manuel returned to Port Harcourt, Rivers state, as 2022 rolled out.

Staged at the Atlantic Hall of the Hotel Presidential, ‘Philomena: Interview With A Prostitute’, deploying satire, wits, a potpourri of dance narratives and dialogue to treats the theme of man’s self determination, hope, resilience, adaptability and courage to fulfil his life dreams amidst unending hopelessness forced by the vicissitudes of a dysfunctional Nigerian society that restrain him from maximising his potentials and resourcefulness.

The dialogue revolves around Philomena (played) by Monalisa Chinda) whose life, derailed by teen birth and sexual abuse, saw her committed to prostitution and pimping in a Philo Beer Parlour, but still able to find the space to train as a fashion designer in the hope to settle into a more respectable life in the future

Amidst her thriving survival business, Philomena got entangled in a neither here nor there affair with Area (portrayed by Ejike Adiegbu), a PHD in the making, yet stagnated as mere school teacher hoping to end up in happy union with the prostitute.

All set in the beer parlour, then enter Westley, a grandiloquent journalist, sacked on the phone by his boss at the beer parlour, but spontaneously found in Philomena, an exclusive interview on her life of prostitution for a story that could restore his dignity as a star journalist. The drama climaxed in Wesley fighting Area to be life partner to Philomena, after his interview exposed much to cherish in Philomena beyond a woman of easy virtue.

Bimbo Manuel told Vanguard the story was inspired by a true life experience a stripper shared in an interview with him. Monalisa Chinda said the she’s had repeated interactions with women of easy virtue in society and noticed there is the Philomena in virtually all of them.

Francis Duru said, “The drama also speaks to the axiom, don’t judge a book by it cover. Seated in the Philo Beer Parlour, hardly anyone would realise Philomena, Area and Westley have so much potentials and knowledge in them, but you have to probe deep to bare their inner feelings as the interview turned out to know how good they are”

Asiegbu said there is need for government and its agencies to give greater attention to supporting women who have found selves in the state of Philomena to development other potentials in them to vacate the low life and engage in more meaningful and respectable livelihoods.

Theater lovers who watched the show which staged daily between December 29, 2022 till the January 1, 2023 final show, said apart from the moral lessons from the captivating story, the event called for the need for revival of stage plays which are gradually disappearing from the arts in preference for films and movies.