Bob Johnson (comedian)
Bob Johnson (born Ishmael Johnson; 1904–1985), also known as The Original Bob, was a Ghanaian comedian who started the one-man show to concert party.[1][2]
Background[edit]
Johnson and Bob Cole begun the concert party tradition in Ghana.[3]
Johnson formed Versatile Eight, which consisted of three principal characters: the joker, the gentleman and lady impersonator.[4] The group first performed in Sekondi Methodist School with Johnson playing the joker. The audience at the Optimism club nicknamed him Bob. Johnson performed a combination of Western blackface minstrels and the trickster Ananse, a hero of Akan folklore.
Johnson took his show to villages throughout Ghana.[5] The show was usually performed in English but was occasionally translated into Akan.[6]
In 1935, Johnson became the "joker" for the Axim Trio while E.K Dadson played ‘Susanna’ and Charlie Turpin, the ‘gentleman’.
References[edit]
- ^ "concert party", The Companion to Theatre and Performance, Oxford University Press, 2010-01-01, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199574193.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-957419-3, retrieved 2020-08-20
- ^ Graham-White, Anthony; Ricard, Alain (1976). "Between the Oral and the Written: Theatre in Ghana and Nigeria". Educational Theatre Journal. 28 (2): 229–238. doi:10.2307/3206665. ISSN 0013-1989. JSTOR 3206665.
- ^ "Protect Ghana's concert party - Prof Collins". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
- ^ "GRIN - Thematic Concerns of the Concert. Early Concert Tradition in West Africa". www.grin.com. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
- ^ Sutherland, Efua Theodora Morgue (1970). The Original Bob: The Story of Bob Johnson, Ghana's Ace Comedian. Anowuo Educational Publications.
- ^ Graham-White, Anthony; Ricard, Alain (1976). "Between the Oral and the Written: Theatre in Ghana and Nigeria". Educational Theatre Journal. 28 (2): 229–238. doi:10.2307/3206665. ISSN 0013-1989. JSTOR 3206665.