By Gibron Rahim
RECENT years have been marked by the re-emergence of theatre as a force to be reckoned with on Guyana’s cultural scene. For this year’s CARIFESTA, some of the best dramatic pieces and actors have chosen to represent the country under the theme, ‘Guyana, an Emerging Green State: As We Assert Our Culture and Celebrate Ourselves.’ The cast and crew are readying themselves to make Guyana proud and to showcase our identity and culture through their dramatic pieces.

The director of ‘Queh Queh,’ written by Subraj Singh, is Esther Hamer. “Queh queh is an African-influenced pre-marriage celebratory ritual. It is community-based and serves several purposes,” Hamer told the Pepperpot Magazine. She stated that the version they have chosen to focus on is the traditional queh queh, which does not utilise drums. “The rhythm is maintained by the participants stomping their feet. The feet-stomping works similarly to the drumming and brings energy and the spirit of revelry to the celebration,” she said. Hamer noted that though the play is brief, it is packed with the major high points of the queh queh which should make it exciting for the audience, noting that there is a twist at the end of the play that is sure to excite them as well.

Hamer also took the time to underscore the importance of plays such as ‘Queh Queh’. “I believe that queh queh — like so many other Guyanese traditions and folklore — is dying. [These things] are losing their traditional essence,” she said. As to her hopes for its performance at CARIFESTA she stated, “I would hope that Queh Queh successfully displays Guyana’s rich cultural background and represents us as a people connected and appreciative of our past, not a disconnected and disoriented people seeking to adapt [sic] everyone else’s culture and not our own.”

‘Baccoo’ is directed by Nicola Moonsammy and was written by Sonia Yarde. According to Moonsammy, the play tells the story of a young girl who is born with ‘caul’ over her eyes (the ability to see ghosts or spirits) which allows her to see the ‘baccoo.’ The play uses drumming which sets the tone, mood and rhythm of the play. “I am using electronic drumming, which is actually a mixture of Nigerian drumming and Guyana’s very best conga drummers,” she stated.

Moonsammy echoed Hamer’s sentiments concerning the slow death of our culture and the lack of preservation efforts. “Our children hardly speak of or know about our folklores,” she observed. “Ask them about Ole Higue or Baccoo [and] some answer ‘Baccoo who?’. [The play] itself is bound to have an effect on audiences from the combination of lighting, sound and costuming. “From that moment the light goes up, the audience will want to know what Baccoo is about,” she said. And her hope for the performance at CARIFESTA? “I would like Baccoo to leave the audience so interested, they will even want to come and explore our Beautiful Land of Guyana.”

And that leaves Masque. Subraj Singh, playwright and director of Masque, says of the play, “Masque is first and foremost, a post-colonial play.” Masque is the second play in his Rebellion Trilogy. “The story of the play concerns a ghost who has returned to seek vengeance on the Europeans who killed her,” Singh said, amongst the play’s other storylines. Dance and music serve important purposes other than entertainment in the play he explained. “The story of the Amerindians is sometimes conspicuously absent from the local stage and this is one of the things that Masque serves to rectify,” he said.

By exploring the past and the early appearance of problems that still haunt us today, he explained, “we hope to be able to give the audience something that may help them to understand themselves, the people around them, or the country as a whole.”
In addition to the elements of the play being representative of Guyanese culture, Singh also added, “on another level, as a play that is about Guyana, as a play written, directed, produced and performed by Guyanese, Masque itself is Guyanese culture, or a part of it,” He said. “Masque is a very visual play, with lots of elements that were intended to shock and induce wonder.” And as it relates to the message to be left with audiences at CARIFESTA, Singh said, “Guyana is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to theatre.”

Meanwhile, essential to the success of the plays, the actors have been pulling triple duty. Two spoke to the Pepperpot Magazine about their roles. Nicholas Singh plays one of the baccoos, Tanna in ‘Masque’ and Johno, the groom’s brother in ‘Queh-Queh’. He cites Tanna as the most challenging of the three and explained that Masque runs longer than the other plays and its upbeat pace and stage dynamics rely on a lot of physicality. The role is also his favourite of the three. “Tanna is a dumb character. Being a mute allows me to be as imaginative as possible with my emotional range, and it had been a joy for me to bring my strangest characterisation while channelling Tanna,” he said.

Le Tisha Da Silva plays Annabelle in ‘Masque’ and a member of the groom’s family and a prop in the other plays. She explained that it is difficult to pick which role is the most difficult, because every play has its challenges. The high energy of ‘Masque’ and the singing and dancing of ‘Queh-Queh’ make them both challenging in their own ways. She cited ‘Queh Queh’ as her favourite of the three and explained, “All the plays embrace Guyanese folklore and culture, but what I love about Queh Queh, is that we tried to keep it as traditional as possible.” She added, “To be honest, from our research, the queh queh tradition is dying and most of what we see at these modern-day queh quehs is a lot of vulgarity. People just want to whine and gyrate, they forget the purpose of the celebration.”

From all accounts, it appears that Guyana’s drama team is set to make its presence felt at CARIFESTA XIII. Tashandra Inniss, president of the National Drama Company, said in a statement, “It is an honour for the National Drama Company to be chosen to be a part of the official contingent at CARIFESTA, for us it means that our art form is not only being recognized, but that it is also quality work and strong enough to represent our country on an international stage. Our company has received tremendous support thus far and at this stage, our aim is to always put forward our best representation of Guyana’s legacy through the pieces we will be performing.”