By Anote
Ajeluorou
There are
perhaps few texts that best exemplify the eternal struggle between men and
women over which sex best understands the other and what the relationship
between them should be than late Prof. Ola Rotimi’s Man Talk Woman Talk. The closest perhaps are Eva Ensler’s Vagina Monologues and Wole Oguntokun’s The Tarzan Monologues that also confront
the issues frontally. But the latter two are monologues that succeed in playing
up only one side of the bargain and do not give the other side a chance to
state its case. But Rotimi turns the tables and goes confrontational, in real
life situation of a debate as is wont to happen between a man and a woman.
As
foremost academic and scholar, Rotimi adds a further pep when he decides to
intellectualise the argument between man and woman by situating it in a legal content.
By so doing, he is more able to provoke fierce fireworks that is sometimes
irreverent, sensual, acidic, peevish and even downright abusive and also
comic.
Complete with Chairman (Opeyemi Dada) and Counselor (Omotunde Sogunle) as jury
panel to hear the case of man versus woman to find out the many contentious
issues between the sexes, boy (Seun Kentebe) and Girl (Abigail Nero) are locked
in bitter debate as how one relates with the other and which one between them
is more provocative, vulgar, aggressive, caring, loving. In plain terms, the
playwright is looking at reaching a middle point so as to forge harmony between
the two. As is often the case, the arguments and counter-arguments spiral out
of hand to produce a sparkling dose of sheer dramatic enjoyment.
Lovers
of theatre were treated to Rotimi’s finest theatrical delivery recently at The
Ethnic Heritage, Ikoyi, Lagos, when B/Rated Production staged Man Talk Woman Talk, directed by Bimbo
Olurunmola to acclaim. Perhaps, one of Rotimi’s most comical plays, Man Talk
Woman Talk best typifies the usual intellectual ferment on campus characterised
by debates among students to bring out the best in them. Rotimi understood this
and eloquently brings out among law students who must resort to the legalese of
their trade to enrich the debate.
Girl
fires the first shot. Who, really, is the prostitute, between man and woman?
That would seem easy enough, but Girl marshals such compelling argument to show
that men are the ‘real’ prostitutes in also always soliciting for sex from
women whereas women are innocent bystanders towards whom men perform the act of
solicitations. But Boy responds sharply; whatever solicitations men engage from
women are as a result of women’s open invitation through their revealing dress
sense. Women know that men are moved by sight, what they see and women
capitalize on this.
But
Girl is not convinced; why should a woman’s innocent way of dressing be viewed
as invitation for sexual aggression and even violence if men’s brains are not
fixed the wrong way: between their thighs instead of in their skull? Indeed,
Girl argues that men are wrongly wired and through with their thighs rather
than with their brains and so sees everything upside down. It is the only
reason a woman’s dress form should be motivation for drooling. Besides, Girl
counters that men are not blameless on the dress sense score otherwise why do
men leave out a button or two to expose their manly jungle of hairy chest if it
wasn’t open invitation for women to see and admire them?
Chairman’s son’s (Austin Onuoha) invitation to tender evidence causes a stir
between Counsellor and Girl, as he bursts into the ‘courtroom’ with clothes
that bare all his sinews that turn the women on. If anything the scene is a
win-win for both debaters: a man or woman’s bare-all dress sense is enough
tempting invitation for both sexes. The clincher, however, is the way forward
proposition. How can the sex war be tamed? Girl seems to have it worked out.
She proposes the ‘care,’ ‘attention,’ and ‘trust’ formula. She understands that
some women like the aggression in men, but she proposes it be in moderation.
Rotimi’s Man Talk Woman Talk is
serio-comic, intellectualising play that puts the actors on their toes in its
provocative, energetic performance. There’s no pause or break to scene change.
To score a point depends on the logic behind it. Kentebe and Nero perform
excellently to win the heart of the audience on the lawn theatre at The Ethnic
Heritage Centre. Chairman of the debate committee, Dada, steered proceedings
expertly, comically, even if partially, to the admiration of the audience. He
helped to amplify and underscore both sides of the debate for the benefit of
the audience. His tending towards the Boy’s argument is understandable.
Counselor, too, isn’t unbiased; she tends towards Girl’s arguments; she is a
concerned party.
Although chairman declares Boy winner on technical points, the audience went
away satisfied that a great dramatic reenactment had happened before them. It
was a moment to savour. It’s a piece of drama you’d wish you saw often. Bimbo
Olurunmola-led B/Rated production did a great job of staging; it will do well
to restage the play soon enough, but at a bigger stage for a bigger audience.
Evidently, he would need sponsorship support to realise restaging Man Talk Woman Talk, one of Rotimi’s
finest plays.
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