ON MAY 7, 2004, Owen 'Blacka' Ellis, will attempt to answer the perennial question, What a Gwaan? He responds to the critically acclaimed comedy with Tings a Gwaan.
According to "the mastermind behind the production", Ellis, Tings a Gwaan will attempt to bring back "intelligent comedy" to Jamaican theatre, while taking a jab at "all the important Jamaican people" including, "Rastafarians, politicians and prostitutes."
INTELLIGENT COMEDY
The Phillip Sherlock Centre at the UWI was the scene of the launch on Tuesday night. Ellis explained that theatre-goers who enjoyed Laugh Jamaica in 1998 will appreciate the attempts made by the writers and the cast to recreate the approach to "intelligent" comedy that will be presented in Tings a Gwaan. The cast, comprising Owen 'Blacka' Ellis, Donald Anderson, Sherando Ferril and Lynier Hines gave brief and hilarious presentations of selections from the two-hour comedy. Three skits were done for the benefit of the guests.
'Cream' (which uses the melody of the Everly Brothers' All I have to do is Dream ), written by Dorothy Cunningham and Owen Ellis, explores the phenomenon of 'bleaching' as a means to attain beauty. 'Coco Brown' (Ferril) and her sidekick (Hines) 'enlightened the situation' for the audience. "If ever you want to look as cute as me, just creeeeam, cream, cream, cream" they sing.
'Cream' was followed by the Tony Hendricks written, 'Status Symbol', a sketch about a man who demands adequate pay for his job. "Mi nuh waan nuh work whe nuh come wid everyting," insists the 'Public Road Sanitation Expert'. "Everyting" for him includes, among other perks, a six figure salary(half in US$), a house and a car. This sketch explores issues of job compensation and the inequalities between those who "create the mess" and those who "clean the mess".
And perhaps the most hilarious piece came from the Ian 'Ity' Ellis written 'Pay Day'. A parody of 'My Way', this peice also satirises the inequalities between those who sign the cheques and those who collect them. "Now is holiday and I not free/ is like so-so crosses deh pon me" sings the man who cannot get his pay.
Tings a Gwaan will run at the Centrestage Theatre, New Kingston, until the end of June.
