By Tanya Batson, Staff Reporter
The Rock Dancers provided the opening and closing dances last Saturday night at the Holy Cross Church Hall, Half-Way Tree,St Andrew. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
THE JAMAICAN justice system and a parable shared a stage on Saturday night. The Dynamic players, a Christian dramatic group, in association with the Bible Society of the West Indies, presented two plays on Saturday night at the Holy Cross Church Hall, Half-Way Tree, St Andrew.
Both productions were written and produced by Minette Shields and directed by Michael Dawkins. Although both pieces, Courtroom Aberrations, and The Wayward Son, were evidently amateur works, this fact should not be held too strongly against them as neither proved to be dramatic travesties.
The evening's first play, Courtroom Aberrations provided the evening's comedy. A bit of slapstick, the play dealt with a case where a man, John Steele, is being tried for stealing a tea bag.
While the characters were immersed in stereotype, the production was rather entertaining, if that limitation was simply accepted. Sadly, however, there was much more at stake than the play chose to explore, keeping only to the surface.
The charge of tea bag theft set the tone for the ludicrous nature of the trial. The name of the man who was charged, John Steele, also set the tone for the characters. All of them were given names which indicated their characters as well as what the audience should think of them. As such, one of the witnesses was called Ms. Lie Labrish while the another was named Ms. Agnes Madness.
In the case of Madness, the name proved to be more than a character trait. It seemed to indict all that Agnes stood for, as she was largely limited to a grotesque stereotype of those who follow the Revivalist religion.
The funniest aspect of the play came though the antics of Ms. Labrish, played by Yolande Beckford. Beckford displayed quite a bit of talent, and quite drew the audience into her character. Her character also indicated what the real courtroom aberration is. It seems that the greatest travesty to take place in the room surrounds language.
Labrish and the attorneys continuously spoke in humorous circles as each misunderstood the other. Labrish was evidently suffering from a very limited acquaintance with standard English while the attorneys were far too enamoured with it. As such, when she was asked if she recognised Steele, Labrish answered that she did not, finishing the statement with, ". . . but Ah see 'im, an Ah know 'im."
The play was made more interesting as the audience was roped into the production to make up the jury. As such, they were required to stand at the appropriate places and render the verdict. After a slew of hapless witnesses, the audience/jury rendered the accused not guilty.
The second production, The Wayward Son, featuring most of the cast from the former play, was a dramatic piece. The play is a remake of The Bible parable of the 'Prodigal Son', except that in this case the poor Jamaican family cannot afford the fatted calf.
Set in modern Jamaica, the play features a family of good Christian's beset by their younger son (Ben) who threatens them with bodily harm if they refuse to give him the money he demands. While on his foray into the world to get rich, Ben played by Kevin Roache soon learns that 'the world has teeth' and does not hesitate in using them. He therefore returns to his family and his father gladly welcomes him back into his arthritis-ridden arms.
The structure of The Wayward Son was weaker than the earlier piece since there were several plot holes. However, it more thoroughly explored its theme, though the characters were again too flat. None were given three dimensions to explore their motivations. However, it provided a better display of the actors' skills, especially Dwayne Wynter (who played Ivan) and Josette Steele (who played Lucy). The play was mainly carried by these actors, who made good attempts to embody their characters.
The night was completed with three dances contributed by the Rock Dancers.
