Tings a Gwaan is the musical comedy revue now playing at The Centrestage theatre in New Kingston. The show, which first opened in Montego Bay, St. James, now gives the Kingstonians the benefit of a tighter, smoother and funnier production.
The cast has shifted somewhat, as have a few pieces. In Montego Bay, the cast consisted of five members, and has now been reduced to four. Additionally, two other members have been replaced.
New to the cast are Donald Anderson and Sherando Farrell while Lynier Hines and Owen 'Blacka' Ellis (who also directs the revue) are the two holdovers. And the shifts are all for the better.
Hines and Ellis, seemed to have benefited greatly from their extended stay in their roles, giving more fine tuned performances. Already the stronger elements of the performance, Ellis' sketches have got even stronger. As such the three 'Soap Box' installments, where Ellis plays a drunken old man, and 'Blessed I Yam' are side-splittingly funny.
The revue features 27 sketches and a theme song. The lyrics and script were created by Joan Andrea Hutchinson, Tony Hendricks, Dorothy Cunningham and Owen Ellis, which means that Tings A Gwaan uses some of Jamaica's most talented comedic writers. The result is a hilarious gem that pokes fun at our society while critiquing it, enhanced by original music created by Winston Bell.
Tings A Gwaan starts with the hilarious 'Gateman', performed by Ellis. The gateman is an exaggerated version of infuriating, power drunk security guards who prove to be the bane of any staff's existence by insisting on seeing identification.
The two strongest comedic talents, Anderson and Ellis display great timing, making their sketches together some of the most hilarious moments, not merely on strength of the writing of the particular segment, but on the performance. Together, the two created those magically hilarious moments when two comic actors competent in their craft collide. Anderson, who also did several pieces by himself, was equally entertaining when going solo.
Joan Andrea Hutchinson's 'Aria Sketelana in G Minor' performed by Sherando Farrel was a gem. The height of parody, the song is a lament of a 'wifey', who loses her wayward lover to a 'tired sketel'. Farrel has a good singing voice, and it is used well in this sketch. Her experience as a newscaster also comes in handy for the two news segments of the revue.
Other parodies in the production were 'Cream' featuring Hines and Farrel and 'Bleachless' featuring Anderson. Both songs dealt with the bleaching issue, though while the first was general to women who whiten their skin, the second was more pointed at Michael Jackson who has managed the leap from black to a 'whiter shade of pale'.
Tings A Gwaan also now includes a mime, featuring Hines and Sherando. This sketch aptly showed the difference in the two actresses. While both gave good performances, Hines is far more technically proficient and so relies less on speech for emphasis, as she uses her body well. This skill was most aptly displayed in the sketches 'Mad People' and 'First Forms'. Hines' only short coming is her ability to capture the broader Jamaican accent.
As with many small productions, the costuming and especially the set, leave a lot to be desired. However, Tings A Gwaan easily provides more than a belly full of laughter. But more importantly, it points a few fingers at what is happening in our society.
