‘Berbice Uprising’ touted as platform for new Guyana
– stage show billed for the National Cultural Centre this weekend
GUYANESE will be in for a reality check and a whole new experience when a 50-strong cast, from Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company (GT&T) takes to the stage of the National Cultural Centre (NCC) this weekend, with the much anticipated ‘Berbice Uprising’. Written by Ras Leon Saul, directed by Neaz Subhan and Sonia Yarde as Stage Manager, the performance promises much and will be earth-shattering, GT&T Chief Executive Officer Yog Mahadeo said at a press conference in their Hadfield Street facility, in Georgetown, yesterday.
The show premieres on Saturday and continues on Sunday, with tickets for the first show costing $2,000 and $700 and $500 Sunday night.
With high expectations for the success of the show and eminently proud to be associated with it, he said: “This weekend, GT&T will, again, provide a new experience. As we do these things, our intention is not just to provide entertainment, but to have a new experience for Guyanese.”
He described Berbice Uprising is a very, very significant show, which helps to relive the moments and struggles of our ancestors during slavery, so that Guyanese might have a better appreciation for our culture, our heritage and our people.
Boasting of GT&T’s reputation for delivering quality service, Mahadeo expressed confidence that this occasion will be no different.
He said Saturday and Sunday will provide both wonderful and, sometimes, chilling reflection on what we were, versus where we are today.
Mahadeo is of the view that the height of the Guyanese culture, the best experience of what we are as Guyanese, can only be real when we are cognisant of the past, the future, the present and how these were shaped.

FITTING TRIBUTE
He said the staging of Berbice Uprising is GT&T’s contribution to the national programme of activities in observance of the UN-designated ‘Year for People of African Descent’ and said that, from GT&T’s perspective, it is a fitting tribute to our African brothers and sisters to culminate the month of Emancipation observances.
Alluding to what he sees as a very passionate relationship between GT&T and Guyana, Mahadeo affirmed that “GT&T believes in Guyana…I think GT&T is the heartbeat of Guyana.”
He congratulated script writer Leon Saul for making the play available to GT&T so it could be taken to the next level; Neaz Subhan for taking on such a huge task and his cast for being a part of the team working dedicatedly towards making the show the tremendous success it promises to be.
GT&T’s moderator, Ms Nadia De Abreu, equally enthusiastic, said the company started the month of August on hype, with football and lots of activities and will be ending similarly with the staging of the Berbice Uprising.
Mr. Subhan expressed pride and pleasure at being able to collaborate with GT&T in staging the show. Concurring with Mahadeo that it is intended to offer a reality check, he admitted that, even after having read about the uprising several times, it was not until reading Saul’s script that it was really, vividly and dramatically brought home to him.
“For me, it was educational and I don’t think I would have gotten that education, had I not read the Mr. Saul’s script.  I can assure you, you are in for something big,” Subhan stated.
Subhan is urging parents to take their children, as well, especially those who are studying history. The show is likely to run for two hours and offers a synopsis of what took place in British Guiana, before and leading up to the Berbice Uprising.
Saul thanked the Almighty Creator, without whose inspiration he would not have been able to achieve the success associated with the show, he said.
He recalled having written the play in the 1980s while residing in Berbice and disclosed that it was first staged in Toronto, Canada, in 1988 and he performed the role of Cuffy (or Kofi). Albeit, he said: “It is a Guyanese play and belongs to the people of Guyana.”
Saul noted that Berbice Uprising is seminal, in the sense that it gives a platform from which Guyanese can now go on and build a new Guyana, based on consciousness. Reflecting on where Guyanese came from, he said that consciousness, ultimately, gives us a new education for the future.
He said he hopes that the staging of Berbice Uprising will serve as a catalyst for the re-education that Guyana so really needs.
“It will also give the young people a chance to reflect on a common path and, together we all as Guyanese can unite on a common platform that gives us the oneness that makes us ‘One people, One nation with One Destiny,” Saul concluded.