YOUNG Subraj Singh has, since his entrance into the realm of theatre, demanded attention with his penchant for the unique and the outstanding. It is not surprising, therefore, that this writer’s 2016 entry into the ongoing National Drama Festival, ‘Masque’, which was recently among those shortlisted for the Finals of the Festival, does not disappoint.
First staged last Saturday during the Preliminaries, ‘Masque’ is the second part of Subraj’s Rebellion Trilogy, each on which focuses on the post-colonial experience of the three main ethnic groups in Guyana.
It is set over 500 years ago in the interior of Guyana, and centres on the story of an Indigenous tribe and the conflicts that arise after they kidnap a white woman.
Though it falls primarily within the post-colonial genre, exploring several tropes within that category, the play also overlaps with several other genres such as post-modernist, ritualistic, feminist and revenge tragedy.
Just as with Part One of the Trilogy, Laugh of the Marble Queen, which was staged last year, Subraj says that ‘Masque’ also received an “overwhelmingly positive” response.
“One of the judges said at the end of the production that the writing was very beautiful; and that really meant a lot,” Subraj said, adding:
“I did attempt to make the language slightly more poetic than usual in order to impart the beauty, the strangeness and the exotic nature of these people and their home in the forest and I’m glad that was recognised.”
DUE PRAISE
He noted that the acting also received due praise, adding that he was even told by a fellow director of another play that his play possessed the “strongest of the strongest” actors.
Subraj concurs. “I agree with him, simply because I have worked with them and seen how amazing they are,” he said. “Not only does ‘Masque’ call for intense emotional responses from the actors, but it is also very physically demanding… All the actors have done tremendous work on this production, probably working the hardest they ever have before for the National Drama Festival, and it definitely shows in the finished product,” he added.
Among the list of actors are Tashandra Inniss, Le Tisha DaSilva, Onix Duncan, Lorraine Baptiste, Ackeem Joseph, Nicholas Singh, Kinberly Samuels, Nirmala Narine and Lisa

Douglas.
But, more important, is the narrative that ‘Masque’ portrays: Colonization and everything that comes with it, including the loss of culture and identity, race-relations, power and authority, reality and the unreal.

OTHER THEMES
Additionally, the play also incorporates other themes such as family, the environment, the past versus the present, and many others.
Subraj said the themes are meant to be expressed in a manner that seeks to educate the public, as is the case with each of the plays within the Trilogy.
“The effects of colonisation are still very much present in modern Guyanese society, and, in fact, a lot of our country’s many problems were borne from colonisation.
‘Masque’ is one of those plays that show how a section of Guyanese society (our Indigenous Peoples) who, probably because of the effects of colonisation, has suffered and continue to suffer in our country,” he said.
He’s always felt that the stories of our Indigenous Peoples are not well-represented in Guyanese literature, and he sought to change that.
Said he: “One of the primary goals when the play was being written, was to create a unique and poignant drama, using techniques within contemporary theatre, so that the story of our First Peoples can be properly told, particularly in this the 50th year of Guyana’s Independence, which, as it nears an end, still offers us the opportunity to look back and to learn and to fix everything that needs to be fixed.
“Masque aims to be a piece of literature the Indigenous Peoples of our country can be proud of, because of the way their history and the various themes of the play, of their lives, and of the life of our country.”
It is this passion and insight that led playwright and Director of Studies at the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama (NSTAD), Al Creighton to refer to Subraj as one of the key players in the future of theatre in Guyana.
But asked whether he sees himself as a catalyst for reviving the theatre industry in Guyana, Subraj states that it is the work of both the National Drama Company (NDC) and NSTAD that will really do the trick.
“The work being put on by NDC members and graduates of the NSTAD is impeccable and of high standards. These are the people who, in a sense, will set trends for the future with regard to what eventually becomes recognised as Guyanese Theatre,” he said.