THIS veteran broadcaster, actor and director is well known for his contributions to theatre, broadcasting and scouting in Guyana; but most know his face from appearances on the popular television show “Stretched Out Magazine”, and from his hilarious performances in the “Link Shows.”

And while he is making a great contribution to his country, he gets great satisfaction out of doing something that he loves with a passion.

At sixty-three years old, Ron Robinson is a father of two, grandfather of six, and great grandfather of one. He became a vibrant figure in the field of Theatre since at the early age of eight, and was painting up himself like a clown with his mother’s lipstick and white yachting tube cleaner since then. As he grew older, he continued Theatre and Drama at Queen’s College, did some acting and directing, and at the same time joined the Scouts movement and the Queen’s College cadets.

Ron says he had thought of becoming a cadet officer, but chose a career in radio instead.

In 1964, he was registered to go to Codrington College in Barbados to study for the priesthood with the Anglican church, but he did not go through with it. He got into broadcasting, and did recorded programmes with the Guyana Information Service in 1964, then started full time radio on August 1, 1965, and has been in the profession ever since.

Ron also did a year’s stint at Barclay’s Bank (now GBTI) before realizing it was not the profession for him. Moreover, he did a brief period of teaching.
Among his other activities, he did scouting, (Ron is now President of the Scout Association). He is a former president of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club – a position he was elected to for three terms; and he also has an interest in building and flying model planes.

At one time Ron even held the profession of Project Director for the popular Merundoi radio drama.

He started the Theatre Company in 1981, and also brought into being the Primetime Advertising agency. Ron says he has been involved in theatre and broadcasting for practically his entire life. He also says that he loves acting so much that he even did it off stage.

He has probably done over 200 productions so far, with the largest, in his assessment, being ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, which was held at the National Cultural Centre in the 80s.

Ron is an executive member of the Theatre Guild, and has directed full length plays since its resuscitation, not so long ago.
The Theatre Company has had many tours abroad, travelling as far as to North America with the Link Show, and has also toured in 1982 with Smile Orange. According to Ron, no other production in the history of the Cultural Centre since the 1972 Carifesta has ever done that.

Ron noted that when he started in radio, there was no television in Guyana, and broadcasters had a passion for what they did. He said that he has endeavoured, over the years, to maintain a standard in broadcasting, and it is up to the public to say if he has succeeded.

Another first in his life, he added, is that he was the first person to present a television newscast in Guyana, produced by Enrico Woolford.

Ron Robinson on radio
Most certainly, there are a lot more interesting, enlightening and entertaining programmes on radio. For instance “Sunday Showcase” with Andrea Joseph, “A salute to senior citizens” with Margaret Lawrence, “Sunshine Corner” with Sarah Blossom Chappell, etc.
This publication says hats off to veteran radio personality Mr Ron Robinson, whose programme, “Ron’s Rendezvous” has always been a wonderful treat for his legion of fans. Ron Robinson has not been long at it for nothing; he has become a past master in broadcasting, and is noted for his encyclopaedic knowledge of songs, singers and scores as he takes his audience through his programme.
His is a treasure that you just can’t dislike.

He makes his audience understand and appreciate the power of meaningful lyrics and lovely songs. And to spice things up, he gets them involved as he teases his audience with mystery tunes. Without taking anything away from other radio personalities, Ron Robinson has undoubtedly been a household name on radio for so long that he has become truly a broadcaster par excellence. Ron Robinson’s 47 years in broadcasting have certainly been no play, and I hereby most heartily congratulate him for his endurance and continuity, not to mention delightful service.

Ron Robinson was interviewed and celebrated by NCN TV and radio for his 48 years of contribution to radio broadcasting.
Ron can be catalogued amongst the many icons of yore in radio broadcasting, including Ulric Gouveia, Ayube Hamid Khan, James Sydney, Vic Insanally, Terry Holder, Hugh Cholmondeley, Carlton James, Rafeek Khan, Rovin Deodat, Mathew Allen, Christopher Deen, Pancho Carew and Ray Robinson; in addition to Olga Lopes Seales, Pat Cameron and Margaret Lawrence.
These doyens of radio broadcasting all have something in common which we can describe as a time signature in music — natural Guyanese accented voices.

Ron is one great personality of many compartments, so to speak. He is a playwright, an actor and a founder of the ‘Link Show’ (staged both locally and overseas in Canada and the USA), which he popularised as a satirical comedy to make the nation laugh at a time when we need to. Don’t forget the ‘Stretched Out Magazine’ on TV and ‘No Big Ting’ on radio at Xmas time.

Ron also hosts two weekly radio musical programmes: ‘Ron’s Rendezvous’ and the Sunday afternoon ‘Church Calling’ for the Anglican Diocese. He has conducted training for broadcasters both in Guyana and in Antigua. One should not omit his involvement with the Theatre Guild, and that he plays the part of Director in the popular radio play ‘Merundoi,’ added to which he is the Chief Scout of Guyana.

Ron Robinson has endured. He has moved from radio to theatre to television. I would rate him as one of the best ever stage actors the Caribbean has produced.
He successfully piloted “No Big Thing” on radio and “Stretch Out Magazine” on television. Ron is back on radio. Every day, early in the morning, you can hear his comforting voice, bringing back memories of this wonderful Guyanese when I was growing up on Durban Street, in Wortmanville.

I feel discomforted many times listening to Ron on the radio. I think I prefer Ron off the radio. Ron off the radio was more independent, more critical. Ron on the radio sounds as a person whose job is to instill a sense of nationalism in his listeners.

Certainly in 2000, 2003 and 2006, there was no major theatre and definitely no full-length drama. This resulted from official attitudes on the part of some nations, but it might also have been a development from the rapid increase in the commercial and professional theatre in the region.

In earlier Carifestas, producers, playwrights, directors, actors and crew were not paid for their work in the festival. But with the rise of the cultural industry, it became much more expensive and sometimes difficult to negotiate to get the leading companies and the leading plays, which look to the box office for income and financing.

However, in Guyana in 2008, the trend was reversed. A number of territories sent their foremost drama, in some cases this represented the best contemporary artistic efforts on stage at the time, like Rawle Gibbons’s Ogun Iyaan of Trinidad, and even some of the most highly demanded popular plays, like Oliver Samuels’s River Bottom and Patrick Brown’s Love Games, both of Jamaica.

Most played to full houses in the festival, in direct contrast to what happened in 2006. So that was a positive gain for drama.

Outside of Carifesta, the two leading Guyanese plays of 2008 were Miriamy, directed by Ron Robinson and Testament, directed by Dr Paloma Mohamed.
Miriamy remains one of the classics of Caribbean comedy. It is a play by Frank Pilgrim that arose from the newly established Theatre Guild in 1963. After initiation by Norman Cameron, it was Pilgrim and Sheik Sadeek out of the same Guild who set local Guyanese drama on its way in the 1960s. Francis Q Farrier was to follow. Miriamy went on to become acclaimed in the region, and Robinson’s production was the most recent revival of this play on stage.

It was a successful revival that made a mark as a leader on the local stage, and it will be remembered.

Another theatrical type that took command and embossed its dominance on the local stage in 2009 was the Link Show. After a shaky period and a worrying absence, this annual comic series has returned in a riot of glory to be a signal event in 2009. Director Ron Robinson and Mrs. Gem Madhoo-Nascimento, his former co-producer, worked together again as The Theatre Company, and GEMS Theatre teamed up to present what must have been the best of all the 25 Link Shows.

Link Show 25 was what all its predecessors wanted it to be – a masterpiece of theatrical satire in the form of a revue of social and political commentary. It succeeded in all respects as an excellent performance of different types of dramatic pieces, including some well-written skits, the use of dance, video and multi-media.

The Link was already known as the most popular production on the Guyanese stage, but in 2009 it deservedly kept bringing the audiences back in an extended run. The clichéd and commercially exploited phrase, “back by popular demand” was this time truly appropriate as an expression of audience appreciation for the dramatic production of the year.
By Alex Wayne