Ugomma… When love matter rebounds

UGOMMA is Wazobia Theatre House Production that has been running since the first Sunday of February and will end this Sunday, February 28 to bring to a close the month of love that culminated in Valentine’s Day weeks back. It was for the reason of this love month that Ikenna Okpala has been staging Ugomma at Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos, a play he also wrote, with Precious Anyanwu directing.

Ugomma is the classic Romeo and Juliet love tale without the baggage of family interference. It fuses a mix of tradition, supernatural intervention and willful interruption of cosmic alignment. It brings to the fore parental interference in how their children should run their lives. Although the theme is somewhat old fashioned as parents hardly decide who their children marry, with the gods deciding the fate of murder suspects but Ugomma makes for a great theatrical experience. Perhaps, the producers should explore how internet is mediating in love relationships, a subject that would be hip with this ‘netizen’ generation hooked on modern gadgets and all.

However, Ugomma (Silvia Oko-Oboh) is the village belle who is betrothed as a child to another child, Ezeibe (Stanley Okeke), by both parents. But just as they become grown ups and their marriage rites completed, they are unable to consummate their marriage on the bridal night; Ugomma runs mad and is unable to fulfill this childhood betrothal.

For two years Ugomma wanders around. On one of his hunting expeditions, Ezeibe’s kinsman and best friend, Ochudo (Okwumah Alexander), sees Ugomma, takes one pitiful look at her and bursts into a heartfelt song that instantly cures Ugomma of her madness. The entire village is ecstatic. Ezeibe, too, is joyful that his wife has regained her sanity and makes efforts to reclaim his wife. But that is precisely where things begin to fall apart, so to say.

Ugomma’s mother, Mgbafo (Afor Ifeoma), unsuccessfully tries to impress it on her daughter that Ezeibe is her rightful husband and she must prepare to move over to his place since the gods have heard his prayers; he remained faithful to his wife while the madness ran its course. For her, Ugomma is duty bound to Ezeibe and nothing else. But Ugomma has other ideas; she has searched her heart deeply and the only love beat she feels is for Ochudo, the man who sweetly sang away her madness, and not Ezeibe! And nothing will change her mind about that.

Thus, the stage is set for a clash between two childhood friends – Ezeibe and Ochudo. In fairness Ochudo is shocked that Ugomma should utter such abomination. How can he betray his own friend on Ugomma’s new whim? Having earned the title of Ochudo – bringer of peace and unity – how can he then take another man’s wife just because she says she loves him?

But Ugomma is adamant upon her newfound love. Why did the gods or whatever forces there are make her mad on the night she was to consummate her marriage to Ezeibe if truly he was the man meant for her? And why was it that it was Ochudo who sang sanity into her? And why can’t she just follow where her heart says she must? Ugomma is not only convinced of her heart’s desire, she is adamant and desperate for Ochudo. Nothings else matters to her.

Ezeibe takes the feud between him and Ochudo to the family elders. But the meeting ends in a stalemate; the elders are divided. For some Ezeibe’s unconsummated marriage to Ugomma before she ran mad effectively nullifies the marriage, and if she does not feel up to it any more, then that is it. Ezeibe is scandalised and chases away his kinsmen for their outrageous decision. He then threatens to deal with Ochudo for snatching his wife from him.

But Ochudo is truly a man of peace. He makes up his mind to leave the village so Ugomma would not continue insisting on the impossible. He visits Ezeibe to intimate him of his decision that would pave the way for him and Ugomma. But he is shocked by Ezeibe’s turn of mind and his philosophical approach to the entire love triangle. Ezeibe confides in his friend that perhaps his marriage to Ugomma was a fraud in the first place since their parents initiated it when they were too young to make decisions. Or else why did Ugomma run mad precisely on the night they were to consummate it? Wasn’t that a sign of the wrongness of the tradition and the entire relationship?

Ezeibe has seen the spite with which Ugomma regards him, and urges his friend Ochudo to go ahead and reciprocate Ugomma’s love; that perhaps they are made for each other. Ochudo is taken aback, but pleasantly overjoyed at the turn of events. While he is plotting to run away, here his is being urged to love Ugomma! Ezeibe offers him palm wine to renew their friendship. He would visit Ugomma that night rather than run away.

But the following day Ochudo is found dead, poisoned. The entire village is summoned by the priestess of the sea who is custodian of peace to which Ochudo is a titled man. The community at once holds Ezeibe responsible for the murderhe gave him wine the previous day. But the final verdict points at Ugomma as the culprit. The community is shocked. How can she kill the man she professes so much love for? But, it is the way of love. She so much wants Ochudo that she decides to push things her way. Her friend Nnena (Ihuoma Daniel-Onyegbula) decides to help when Ugomma wouldn’t let up on Ochudo. She’d helped her to a juju man’s place to push nature’s hand. In her zeal to get things done quickly, she overdoes them. Rather than a pinch of the love portion, she had emptied the entire content in the soup for Ochudo that results in Ochudo’s death.