Manish Ghandi, popular Indian theatre director, stage, film and TV actor, is on a working visit to Ghana to promote theatre culture in the country believing that “theatre is a sure way of building confidence, expressing thoughts and ideas as well as effecting change in behavioural patterns.”

Ghandi is currently on a crash teacher training project at St Nicholas School in Tema, where he is also training the children there in acting.

He has also held a workshop for students of the National Film and Television Training Institute (NAFTI) and will perform a play titled Brown Shakespeare at the School of Performing Arts at the University of Ghana, Legon.

“I am delighted to take part in this project in Ghana because I believe in the essence and values of theatre. I am doing a teacher training thing with the teachers at St Nicholas in order to give them more techniques to make education more accessible to students. This is a continuation of my theatre works back home in India,” Ghandi told .

Though Ghana has had a popular theatre culture, the requisite training has been minimal and largely limited to schools structured on higher academic curricula, meaning persons who have no academic qualifications are left out.

Amateur theatre actors and directors also struggle to practice the craft due to the absence of the necessary structures and funding.

A professional theatre director and actor coming to Ghana to offer a helping hand in training is therefore welcome news to the theatre industry.

Ghandi said he chose Ghana because he found a lot of similarities between the cultures, traditional core values and behavioural patterns of India and Ghana.

Highly reputable events and production company, Farmhouse Productions, headed by Ivan Quarshigah, is hosting Ghandi who recently completed the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).

Ghandi further explained his project at St Nicholas School: “These are children who from a young age are being given the values of theatre. As a child, I did not have access to these values and expression system.

…and if we can teach children to express themselves confidently and tell what their inner feelings are, we are making a meaningful change in a positive way. It gives children the values of expressing themselves.

“This is important because these children are your future and you are not going to be alive all your life. As part of a growing civilisation, we have to trust the people and give them more power. When we do not give them those tools, they would never be self-confident enough.

Like in India, it happens a lot that children are hushed down when they want to say something or express their opinion.

“Even as a young adult in India, there were a lot of times I was not allowed to speak and I believe same pertains in some parts of Ghana where children are not allowed to be heard. We need to use theatre to give them a voice to tell their stories,” Ghandi added.

Manish Ghandi, as part of his visit to Ghana, has also met the renowned Ghanaian playwright and motivational speaker, James Ebo Whyte, popularly known as Uncle Ebo Whyte, and his Roverman Production team.