{"id":27724,"date":"2026-01-27T09:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T17:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/?p=27724"},"modified":"2026-01-15T10:58:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T18:58:37","slug":"maanomaa-my-brother-tells-tale-of-childhood-friends-reuniting-in-ghana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2026\/01\/27\/maanomaa-my-brother-tells-tale-of-childhood-friends-reuniting-in-ghana\/","title":{"rendered":"Maanomaa, My Brother<\/em> tells tale of childhood friends reuniting in Ghana"},"content":{"rendered":"

This February the Belfry Theatre will serve as the backdrop for a highly praised theatrical production not yet seen on the west coast: Maanomaa, My Brother<\/i>. Co-created by Tawiah M\u2019Carthia and Brad Cook, the play tells the story of two childhood friends reuniting in Ghana after decades apart.<\/p>\n

Director Phillip Akin says that the vibrant and emotional storytelling seen on stage has moved audiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen so many teary-eyed, \u2018Oh my gosh, what a wonderful show,\u2019 people in my life. I couldn\u2019t believe it,\u201d says Akin. \u201cPeople come by and they\u2019re so touched… And I\u2019m like, \u2018What\u2019s the matter with you?\u2019 But it does that because of the charm of the two guys and the compelling story that they\u2019re telling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Director Phillip Akin is bringing Maanomaa, My Brother<\/em> to the Belfry Theatre next month (photo by David Cooper).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The play features a blend of Canadian and West African cultures, signifying a celebration of storytelling. While its back-and-forth structure serves to emphasize the overall themes of the play, Akin says it also creates a flexible, imaginative opportunity for those working behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quite fast paced,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s some remarkable movement and characterizations, so it was really interesting for me to be brought in to direct it because I was looking at it from a very different point of view, I think, than they were. They\u2019d already been working on this thing for a couple years, and then I show up and say, \u2018Oh, no, that\u2019s stupid. We\u2019re not doing that.\u2019 But, you know, we work well together, the three of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Akin says the process of bringing this production to life has been a labour of love, relying heavily on collaboration to allow this story to evolve.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guys already had really strong creative ideas about how things went. So when I was coming in\u2014and I tend to have some pretty strong ideas\u2014it was about finding a balance of what they were doing and what I was trying to do theatrically,\u201d says Akin. \u201cAnd so I came in with a real idea of, \u2018How do I shape what they\u2019ve created and make it the most concise and clear and theatrical production?\u2019 So we worked together to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Akin says that this collaboration was prominent during rehearsals, as well as during their first run in Toronto at Berkeley Street Theatre. This production of Maanomaa, My Brother<\/i> was developed over half a decade and has gone through a number of precise, sometimes minuscule, changes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a particular opening night in Toronto and I changed what they wanted to do, and I think they actually hated what I made them do,\u201d says Akin. \u201cBut they did it every night and it worked every night because, theatrically, it was right\u2026 There\u2019s a lot of things that they do that I go, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s fabulous. All we have to do is change the timing a little bit, make this turn a half-beat later.\u2019 That\u2019s the kind of stuff I hope to bring to the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Akin says that Maanomaa, My Brother<\/i> leaves audiences feeling nostalgic for childhood connections and past selves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it touches a real nerve with people who had good friends\u2014really good friends\u2014when they were kids, and then go, \u2018I wonder where they are now,\u2019 you know\u2026 So, I think there\u2019s a resonance there in who we used to be and how our memory takes us back to those encounters we had when we were kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maanomaa, My Brother
\n<\/i><\/i>Various times,
\nTuesday, February 3
\nto Sunday, March 1
\nVarious prices, Belfry Theatre
\nbelfry.bc.ca<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This February the Belfry Theatre will serve as the backdrop for a highly praised theatrical production not yet seen on the west coast: Maanomaa, My Brother. Co-created by Tawiah M\u2019Carthia and Brad Cook, the play tells the story of two childhood friends reuniting in Ghana after decades apart. Director Phillip Akin says that the vibrant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27725,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,345],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-january-21-2026"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t