Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
Models present creations from Raia de Goeye's summer collection during Sao Paulo Fashion Week in Brazil, yesterday. - REUTERS
LYNN AHRENS' Once on This Island is the Jamaica Musical Theatre Company's 2006 summer production, currently playing at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts, University of the West Indies, Mona. Despite being without any particularly striking performances (at least as seen last Sunday night), the production is an entertaining piece of musical theatre.
Indeed, Once on This Island features very little dialogue, so that most of the story is told either through short monologues from the various storytellers or most often through the music, which works as a strength for the production, but should be a warning sign for those who are not particularly keen on musical theatre.
This year's production is directed by Michael Daley, who has previously produced for the company, but this is his first turn at direction. It's a good start, especially because so much depended on the actors conveying the story through song and so meaning could easily have slipped out of his grasp. The story moved at a good pace and the production is visually compelling.
THE CAST
Additionally, the major actors are allowed to bring their doomed love convincingly to life (even if Ti Moune seemed a little too much like a stalker at the outset). Sakina Deer, who performed last Sunday night, made an engaging Ti Moune, which managed to be emotional without being melodramatic. Deer also has a good voice which carried well for the production.
Orin Scott-Stewart played opposite her as Daniel. Scott-Stewart gave a good performance, but he needs to either reconsider the songs he performs or undergo more voice training as his vocal skills were clearly severely taxed with this piece.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
The production could have benefited from stronger performances from the pantheon of gods, who were competent, but the production needed more than mere competence from them: Agwe (Charles Moore), Rushae Watson (Eursulie), Tina Mowatt (Asaka) and especially, Albert Williams (Papa Ge).
Papa Ge ought to have been a particularly compelling performance because he plays death. Unfortunately, Williams' movements were a little too effete, which, were they used deliberately, could have made a striking point, but it seemed more accidental a trait.
Nonetheless, the gods were costumed in resplendent headpieces, which borrowed heavily from the carnival tradition, and made them seem larger than life. However, the performances of the actors were not able to lift them much higher and so much of the drama depended on them that their limitations held back the potential of the production.
WITH CARIBBEAN FLAVOUR
Interestingly, in his director's notes, Daley noted that the production was selected because the company was desirous of producing a work with a Caribbean flavour. So, Once on This Island is a tale of star-crossed lovers that is then blended with issues of post colonialism and its resultant classism and shadism.
However, this is the non-fat or light version which is problematic for a country going through this same fate. Though our island might no longer be as segregated as the fictional French colonized isle of the story, there are echoes, and those echoes deserve greater interrogation. So, though Once on This Island manages to have a Caribbean feel, it does not adequately feel out the Caribbean.
Much to its credit, however, the production used choreography (Orville Hall) and set pieces (Ron Steger - set design) to help give a more Caribbean and Jamaican feel effectively reducing the generic 'island' feel that sometimes came through in the music.
