‘NOTHING to laugh about 8,’ ‘After Elections Link,’ and ‘For Better for Worse,’ are all comedy shows fans of Henry St. Cyprian ‘Franklin’ Rodney should be looking out for presently!
In fact, ‘Nothing to laugh about 8’ has already gotten underway in Linden and are slated for several other venues around the country.
‘After Elections Link’ will be put on from August 7 to 10 and a date for ‘For Better for Worse’ still has to be confirmed, Rodney told the Chronicle in an interview Thursday.
“My intention is to keep bringing entertainment to the nation; smiles and laughter to homes,” he related, as he stressed the need for the arts in Guyana to be taken more seriously. Furthermore, he is of the view that the artistes in the country ought to be recognised on a grander scale.
Rodney modestly conceded that he is not at the point in his career where he would have liked to be. He still has certain goals to achieve. However, he is quite confident that he will get there and even take it further to be able to branch off into larger territories.

This will be nothing hard for him as he has already taken his talent to the USA, Canada, London and the Caribbean.
Now 56 years old, Rodney said apart from his “raucous” behaviour on stage, he is a saint, and that his middle name represents that “saintly thing in me.”
Long before he played ‘Franklin’ in the popular play, ‘Agree to Disagree’, he was George in ‘Jezebel’; and to this day, people who saw the show still call him that, or ‘Sugar George’, and ‘Sugar Baby’. “Like Hector Stout; he calls me nothing else but ‘Sugar Baby’.”
“Your stage names live on,” he offered, adding, “Some people would approach me and ask, ‘Man, what really is your name?’ Many times, walking down the road, I have a lot of explaining to do. In some instances, people have even written cheques in his stage names. “People write on the cheques the name ‘Franklin’, and then ask, ‘Franklin what?’ A number of times, I had to go back for them to redo the cheques.”
And to add to a good performance on stage, Franklin believes in doing lots of exercise. “I do exercise a lot, so that I can keep my body like this,” he said, obviously referring to his well-toned physique. “It is the most rugged thing to be flabby on stage,” he said.
Henry’s acting skills were developed during his school days, and back when he attended Sunday School. Having seen his ability, his teachers would often ask him to perform before the class and at school. They would also admonish his mother not to ever discourage him in whatever his pursuits were.
Henry said he has a greater love for acting because it is more challenging. A good comedic performance, according to him, has much to do with good timing; using hardcore facts to produce comedy also usually works well.
He likes to “play up” women, in the sense that when he sees them dominating his audience, he speaks in their favour. “I play with them; I say women are the strongest creatures God has ever placed on the face of the earth, and they say, ‘Yeaaaaaaaaaaaah!!’ So I can’t go wrong. It is easier to lambaste the men than the women.”
Commenting on who helped shape his career, Henry spoke about people like Anthony Stuart, Kwesi Ojinga, Allan Cooper, Margaret Lawrence, Pat Cameron, Diane Cameron, and Dawn Shultz.
Many people do not know that Rodney has been a teacher for nearly 20 years. He has taught at St. Joseph High School, St. Rose’s High, North Georgetown Secondary, Apex Academy, and the Cyril Potter College of Education, among other institutions.
Miranda Austin, Shelly Bancroft, and ‘rubber bullets man’ James Bond are among some of his students. The subject areas he taught included literature, drama in education, and physical education.
Rodney has a nice family life, too. He has been married to his wife, Joan, for the past 32 years, and they have three lovely daughters and two grandchildren.

His advice to people wishing to get into the business of acting is: “Be yourself! You cannot be a Jumbie Jones or a Henry Rodney; you have to be yourself. There is no place for haughty people. Humility and respect are the keys. People will, in turn, respect you for who you are and not just what you do. You should always have your audience wondering what you will bring to the table. And remember the three Ds: discipline, dedication and determination. These breed success.”

By Telesha Vidya Ramnarine