One of Bermuda's best known theatre personalities returns to the Bermuda stage this week to revive his original role in a play first staged here 12 years ago.

Gene Harvey plays the role of Okonkwo in the Nigerian comedy, `Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again!', which was first staged here by the Cedar Roots Ensemble.

Tomorrow, Patricia Pogson directs Black Box Productions in an anniversary production which, she says, fits in with the fact that it is Heritage Month.

Most of the leading roles will have the same actors taking part, an exception being Ms Pogson herself, who originally played one of the wives.

On that first occasion, says Mr. Harvey, he was also the director of the play, "but now, Pat is the boss -- the teacher is now the pupil!'' "Yes, you could say there's a bit of role reversal going on here,'' agrees Ms Pogson, "but Gene taught me a lot about theatre and it's very exciting to have him home to do this role again!'' `Our Husband', written by Nigerian playwright Ola Romimi and first performed at Yale University (where he was a Rockefeller Foundation Scholar in Playwriting and Dramatic Literature), takes a satirical look at contemporary Africa, where a former military major decides to make a foray into politics.

An opportunist whose ambition far outweighs his abilities, he finds himself mired in troubles of a social and cultural nature when his American wife suddenly turns up, and is less than enchanted to find that she has competition from two other wives.

"I can honestly say that when I read this play again after all these years, I couldn't stop laughing -- and I think that says a heck of a lot for the writer,'' exclaims Mr. Harvey. "But apart from being a very funny play indeed, it's so well written and one doesn't really have to understand the nuances of Nigeria and the Nigerians in order to understand the nuances.

"The issue of polygamy has more to do with economic reality than with social realities, I think, but the play certainly embraces issues of relationships, ego, feminism and so on. And I think that with the kind of behaviour that goes on in Bermuda, we can see a certain parallel with the multiplicity of relationships -- the war of the genders -- and, of course, the final resolution that sees the woman emerge supreme.'' Mr. Harvey worked for many years on the New York stage and was one of the pioneers of black theatre in Bermuda through Studio Foundations, Theatre Association Bermuda and then as one of the founders of Cedar Roots with Patricia Pogson. He is also proud of the fact that he founded the Road Show, with Ms Pogson as his assistant.

"Now Pat is in charge of that as well and I am helping her to celebrate the fact that with that show, she has finally realised our original ambition -- which was to take it beyond these shores. This summer, she takes the Road Show to St. Lucia and it had been conceived as a project that would be part cultural exchange, taking pieces in to Bermuda and taking pieces out, to add to this growing sense of a global community.

"Pat,'' he adds, "speaks very graciously about me, but I do think that her footsteps are bigger than mine -- and I'm not talking about the size of her shoes! She has made a huge contribution to the cause of theatre here and I commend her for her dedication. Now, as for this play, the rehearsals with a very talented cast have been fantastic.

"First time around, `Our Husband' got a wonderful response from the audience and people kept asking when we would do it again -- and to this day, people are using some of the catch-phrases that had such an effect on the community 13 years ago. We still keep laughing as we rehearse -- and I think that's a very good sign!'' `Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again!' will be staged at the City Hall Theatre from tomorrow, May 15 through Saturday, May 17, at 8 p.m. nightly. For reservations, telephone the City Hall Box Office at 292-2313.