By Tyrone Reid, Staff ReporterCOME WHAT may. The show must go on! this was the mindset that gave rise to what Barbara Gloudon deemed a successful two-show performance in Canada by the cast of this year's Pantomime, Miss Annie. The cast was forced to 'tun dem hand mek fashion' after their props were mistakenly sent to Haifa in Israel.
In a story published in The Gleaner on Saturday June 21, which was the day of the performances at the Toronto Centre for the Arts, it was reported that the Little Theatre Movement hired B.L. Williams to ship the props. Subsequently, B.L. Williams designated Zim Lines as the carrier. The shipment left the island on May 23, and was estimated to arrive in Canada on June 2.
Additionally, in the aforementioned story, Ted Muschett, the director of B.L. Williams, said that Zim Lines would have the entire set air-freighted and it should be in Toronto at 6 a.m. That never happened, since to date, all of the props have not arrived in Toronto.
Nonetheless, the show went on. Gloudon told The Gleaner that the props turned up in boxes at various times, all of which were too late for the 2:30 p.m. show. This she said was because the theatre has a rule that forbids any adjustment to the set half hour before curtains are raised.
This late arrival forced them to improvise. "Well, we had spent the morning working on things which could be used to create some sort of effect, and that along with lighting and the efforts at rebuilding some pieces of props, which we did work on all during the day," said Gloudon.
In spite of the circumstances, she said that the cast was energised by the challenge. With regards to the performances, the theatre stalwart said: "To tell you the truth, I was stunned. I was there killing up myself saying that this was not there and that was not there but the cast just gave an incredible performance, they just threw themselves into it."
By the time of the second performance at 7:30 p.m., they had a lot more to work with but still did not have the luxury of their entire backdrop. However, in her estimation, the second staging, was held under the patronage of the Honourable Louise Bennett-Coverley, was better than the first. "That was a more sophisticated one (performance) as we had some more of the effects, still a lot of it never turned up. Things like the carriage never turned up. It came in boxes with two wheels in one box and so on," she said, still in disbelief.
Currently, it is unclear if the Little Theatre Movement will get past this mishap. However, according to Gloudon, further actions are dependent on the advice garnered from the relevant authorities. "We are looking at what has to be done in all fairness, because we have lost a lot of money... We are consulting our attorneys for appropriate actions," she revealed.
At this time the extent of the loss is undetermined but Gloudon highlighted that a slated meeting with the technical staff will offer answers to the same. However, Gloudon and the Little Theatre Movement counts it all joy. "We took a financial loss but we had an artistic success," she said.
The team returned to the island on separate flights on June 23 and 25. They are now busy preparing for a mid-summer show called Ducknoo Town. This project, it is said, will have a life span of 12 shows from August 8 to the September 1, and will only be staged on weekends.
