Tanya Batson Savage, Freelance Writer
Several of the players in a scene in the Jamaica Junior Theatre 2006 Production 'Aida', held at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts, University of the West Indies, Mona campus, on Saturday. - WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
BY THE company's own standards the Jamaica Junior Theatre's (JJT) 2006 production, Aida of Nubia, is remarkably unremarkable. The production presents some budding voices and there are a few redeemable moments but the piece in general falls short of expectations.
The JJT is the junior arm of the Jamaica Musical Theatre Company, and Aida is currently playing at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts at the University of the West Indies, Mona. The story is an adaptation and is scripted by Doug Bennett, who is also the production's producer and musical director. Peter Haley is director and set designer.
COSTUMING AND MAKE-UP
One can usually expect wonderful costuming and make-up, if nothing else, from the production, and this year Aida falls short even there. The troupe's repertoire lends itself to the fantastic and their costuming and make-up department usually take full advantage of this.
This year's costume design and coordination once again fell to Carolyn Chin Yee, whose stunning work on 2003's Scheherazade's Tale had earned her an Actor Boy Award. The costumes remained colourful and pretty, but with the exception of the Pharoah's dress in the final scene, they were generally rather unremarkable.
Additionally, the set design also fell below par. It adequately created the feel of ancient Egypt, but elements such as the Pharaoh's throne were unimpressively austere, and the limited set made do with a pavilion and a palm tree backdrop (painted by Marion Thwaites).
Saturday's matinee featured performances by Karla Josephs (Aida) and David Tulloch (Radames) in the main roles. Other principal characters were played by Romane Townsend (Omari), Sean Baugh (Zebelun), Elizabeth Goffe (Princess Amneris), Orrin Scott-Stewart (Pharoah) and Aisha Ricketts (Makeba).
FULL VOCAL STRENGTH MISSING
Josephs, Baugh and Ricketts presented the three most remarkable voices of the lot. However, the early songs in her repertoire seemed to be problematic for Josephs and she was unable to capture her full vocal strength. Fortunately, after delivering a rousing rendition of The Gods Love Nubia she maintained a commendable level.
The Gods Love Nubia also allowed Ricketts to show off her impressive vocal skills and oozed a delight in performing. Sean Baugh also displayed an impressive set of budding vocals, which promises to be a full-throated delight once he comes into his own. Goffe
displayed good vocal control.
CLEARER GUIDANCE NEEDED
The performance strength, however, was even weaker. Josephs was able to approximate the regal bearing demanded of her but she needed clearer guidance to render a character with nuance. Tulloch's natural posture, a slight slouch, quite worked against his attempted portrayal of Rademes as he is unable to capture the enigmatic quality of the warrior the script tells he has. Additionally, his tendency to speak in fits and starts and other mannerisms tended to render dramatic moments comic.
Romane Townsend tackles the arts with commendable passion but here he battles against his own diminutive size. Rather than therefore playing for cunning, he attempted to strive for a powerful presence but he is physically too small and his voice is too weak for him to achieve this, at least as yet.
Furthermore, Bennett's script lacks both the dramatic intensity and the romance that should infuse Aida, a story which explores, as the song explains, "love in a time of hate." As such, though the production is reasonably successful, it is remarkably unremarkable, especially by its own standards.
