– Leonora girl Nirmala Narine proud of her achievements in theatre
By Akola Thompson
From the time she was a student at the Bishop’s High School, now 28-year-old Nirmala Narine knew that she would be an active participant in the theatre scene in Guyana, and she has achieved that goal, and is most known for her Creole on stage.
From Leonora, West Coast of Demerara, she had a very typical “country” childhood of climbing trees, stealing fruits from the neighbors, exploring the backdam and visiting the canals.
It was at the age of 15 that Nirmala entered the world of theatre and never left.
She starred in her first play “Smile Orange” in the role of a boy during an annual drama competition between houses at The Bishops High School. “It was both humiliating and fun at the same time,” she said, adding “being a shy person and a first timer on stage having to play another gender plus there was this line I had to say ‘these oranges go rotten off me balls Sir’ whilst grabbing my fake ‘package’ in front of the entire school.”
Whatever the case, the experience was a “new but profound and exhilarating” one and that was the defining moment when she realized she had a sincere love for the arts. From that point, she said, her passion saw her auditioning for several other roles in different plays and her love for acting kept her.
Confessing that she is more comfortable playing roles that speak Creolese as it comes natural to her having grown up in the countryside, Nirmala said that every role she plays is a great one. Recently, she performed in the play “The Colour of Race 2.” “It wasn’t a lead role,” she said, “but I really enjoyed it and I felt that my performance was powerful and so was the message of the play. The stage manager was like ‘I would give you an award for that role.’”
Nirmala is proud of how far she has come from her first performance and the fans who continue to support her everyday.
Nirmala’s raw talent and devotion to theatre saw her collecting various awards over the years. She has won the Best Supporting Actress Award for “A New Beginning” in 2011 and Best Actress Award for “Virtue” in 2012 at the Theatre Guild Guyana Awards ceremony. She graduated from the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama, where she received an award for the Best Graduating Student for Production. She is also proud that she is a member of the Re-Actors, the National Drama Company and the fact that she has done street theatre performances in different regions for Merundoi Incorporated and played characters for their radio drama series.
Aside from the joys associated with a life in theatre however, Nirmala pointed to the lack of respect actors and others in theatre face in Guyana, particularly when it comes to the timely for payment for their work.
Nirmala said that one of the solutions is for those involved in theatre to put together a union so that they can be represented and their rights and interests protected.
