5 September, 2002
Ntare's Biro Dazzles Las Vegas Audience
SAD: Ntare tells the trials and tribulations of being a soldier
-- He recounts the trials being a starving soldier and the pain of
discovering that he has AIDS
By Opiyo Oloya
Biro, the one-person play written and acted by Los Angeles-based Ugandan artist
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, made its first dry run last Friday night, before a rapt
audience of Ugandans attending the 14th Annual Uganda-North American Convention
in Las Vegas. Mwine, who spent several weeks in Uganda last spring, researching
the play, delivered a stellar 90 minutes performance that drew a prolonged standing
ovation from the audience. With a simple set that included a lectern, the stage
lights, slide projectors, and a bright orange prison uniform, Mwine used his amazing
story-telling talent with extraordinary result. Many Ugandans who spoke about the
play afterwards, expressed surprise that one person could weave such a
spellbinding play. Said Ms. Aisha Owomugisha, a proprietor of Selective at the
Sheraton, Kampala, "I have never been to a one person play in my life and was very
skeptical that one person could do a play all by himself-but Mwine was amazing, as
he dazzled us with a Runyankore accent, rather than American accent. When you are
here you think that our culture is dead, but thank God, someone is keeping our culture
alive."
That sentiment was echoed by many in the audience of over two hundred people who
gathered at the Riviera ballroom to watch the play. To a person, everyone was blown
away by the story of Biro who gives a first-person account of his life prior to
serving time in a US jail. Biro recounts the early days of the NRA bush war, the
trial and tribulations of being a starving soldier, the pain of discovering that he
has AIDS and his eventual journey to America in search of medication. The story begins
at the point where he is meeting his third or fourth lawyer who meets him in a Texas
jail.
Mwine who is totally believable as Biro is adept at changing his voice, and employing
visual images and audio clips to transport the audience back in time, making everything
appear so crystal clear. Through his tale, we follow Biro as a young NRA recruit eager
for war, a seasoned soldier training in Cuba, and a dejected man suffering from AIDS
in America. There is not a pin drop as his character recounts the difficulties of
looking for jobs in North America, of trying to fit in, but never really fitting
in. In the end the audience is totally won over by the charming former NRA soldier
whose only reason for staying alive as he puts it is, "to look after my child back
home in Uganda."
Though still very much a work in progress, Biro is nonetheless riveting, as a
multimedia play complete with audio-visual component that enables the audience to
follow the story. There is a rare picture of Rwandan president Paul Kagame who is
described in the play as "totally miserable" in the bush. There are pictures of
NRA recurits undergoing training and then there are sounds of army training. All
these elements give Mwine the edge in holding the attention of the audience
throughout the performance.
At the end, the won-over audience cheered and clapped and surged forward to meet
Mwine who stood at the door, personally shaking hands with everyone in the long
line.
Dr Richard Oloya from Canton, Ohio said he was astounded by the many voices that
Mwine was able to bring on stage, now sounding like a man from western Uganda,
and then suddenly switching to a flawless American accent, before moving back to
western Uganda.
Mr. Moses Wilson, a business entrepreneur from Los Angeles,
California called Biro, "a very powerful play that totally captivates the audience."
Despite the enthusiastic reception, Mwine later said the play is stil very much
on the drawing board, as there remain many components that need to be further
tightened. Once it's fully developed, his goal is to premier the play at a
large venue in Uganda.
Plans are underway to explore the possibility of a big opening night in Kampala
in January, next year.
Many people interviewed said they would gladly go and see it again.
Ends