The Tragedy of Mr. No-Balance by Victor Musinga

Kwo Victor Elame Musinga. The Tragedy of Mr. No-Balance. Edited by Roselyne Jua. Langaa publishers, 2oo8. Available at amazon.com and African Books Collective

The Tragedy of Mr No-Balance spotlights corruption. Musinga skillfullyblends humour and simplicity to expose its depth in Cameroon.

Mr No Balance asks job applicants to either ‘throw water up’ or ‘oil my lips’.The playwright uses the illiterate Bih to expose his corrupt practices andto demonstrate that the downtrodden of the society can contribute to the fight against corruption. He proposes an effective police network and an impartial judiciary for corruption eradication.

This play is a must watch for anyone who is frustrated because of corruption and hopeless about its eradication.

Playwright, Dramatist, Stage Director and Founder of the pioneer English speaking Drama group, Musinga Drama Group, Cameroon, Kwo Victor Elame Musinga has written over thirty plays most of which have remained unpublished. Still engaged in writing and acting, he is a fount of resource to the student of Cameroon drama. He is currently assisting in the creation of drama clubs in secondary and primary schools all over the country and working on a TV series based on corruption titled Mr. Director.

Roselyne M. Jua holds a BA (Hons) from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, a PhD from SUNY at Buffalo, New York. She teaches English and American Literature at the University of Buea, Cameroon. Her research interests are eclectic and recent essays have appeared in The Journal of Black Studies and The International Journal of Humanistic Studies. She is co-editor of Emerging Perspectives in Anglophone Cameroon Drama and Theatre 1, and with Bate Besong, of To the Creative Writer: A Handbook. Her first book of poems is entitled In My Father’s House. She is amember of WEEN, a women’s empowerment enterprise in Cameroon.