Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
WINSTON SILL, Freelance Photographer -
'Mr. Stone' (right) preys on his 16 year-old student, Kerry-Ann Parker.
Did Mama Know?, currently playing at the Barn Theatre in New Kingston, deals with serious issues but it treats them all too lightly. With enough fodder to make an intense dramatic comedy, the play comes off as a light comedy - and that is quite tragic.
That the play is funny is not by itself lamentable and generally it is not a bad effort. There is no issue so serious that one cannot laugh at it, but laughter does not always mean being dismissive of or treating an issue lightly. Unfortunately, the latter is done in Did Mama Know?.
The play, written and directed by Paul Oniel, focuses on a middle-class family (at least, by their financial standing) with a 16 year-old daughter who is quite successful academically. Its main issue is sexual abuse and as the title suggests, whether the mother is culpable for what happens to her daughter by ignoring it.
Etmour Williams plays the abusive father, 'Winston', while Dawn Nugent plays his wife, 'Catherine'. Kerry-Ann Parker plays their daughter. The family also share their home with a niece, Sophia (Melissa Simms). The play's plot is generally predictable and glaringly weak attempts at creating suspense often come across as plot holes.
Though the play deals with two sexual predators, it uses laughter to try and soften one of them and then present him as the hero.
While the cast is the production's major strength, its characters are one of its weakest. The characters are all stereotypes, but Winston and 'Mr. Stone' (Dennis Hall) particularly so. Winston is an abusive father, whose main weapon is his disregard for those around him.
ICONIC RASTAMAN
Stone presents the opposite character. As the iconic Rastaman he is supposedly sensitive and caring. However, when he gets involved with his 16 year-old student, he is barely conscious of his guilt and a glib, funnily delivered "you have Rasta weak" is used as his excuse for real remorse.
Tanya and Catherine have a tendency to take multi-syllabic words and swing them wildly about to suggest that they are intelligent. Both exude a sense of superiority over the husband and father, Winston and use English as a weapon, though their grammar is far from perfect. Sophia is the idiot country cousin, though she shows a few moments of common sense.
MILDLY AMUSING
The play is mildly amusing, with most of the jokes coming from Winston, Mr. Stone or Sophia. Indeed, Sophia is one of the joys of the productions, even though she too is mired in stereotype.
Interestingly, the cast is not a bad one. Each member displays a commendable level of competence. The major problem lays in how the piece was directed and written. Additionally, the inexperience of the players in delivering nuance also came out, so they were unable to give proper depth to their characters.
Crying, like drunkenness, should not be overdone or it becomes completely unbelievable. As such, Tanya's melodramatic crying sprees robbed those moments of any real drama. Generally, overacting steered dramatic moments toward comedy.
The result is that though Did Mama Know? has potential, as a finished product it is not quite up to scratch.
