The National Drama Company of Guyana (NDC) last year presented a production of Ti Jean and His Brothers, a play written by the late and iconic Caribbean poet/playwright, Derek Walcott. The production was geared towards assisting secondary school students who will be studying the play as part of their Literature classes. As teachers, and members of the NDC, know, plays are meant to be performed and not merely read, and the Company’s performance of Ti Jean was indeed a welcome part of the process of gaining a thorough understanding of the story of the play, as well as its deeper messages and themes, that no doubt, based on the students’ reactions at the end of the performances last year, fuelled some love of theatre and did manage to assist the students in their studies of plays and Literature.

This year, in keeping with the same theme of putting on a performance of a play that is on the CSEC syllabus, the NDC is currently in the midst of preparations for their next big production – which is going to be another famous postcolonial play: The Lion and the Jewel written by the Nigerian Nobel Prize Winner, Wole Soyinka. The comedy, as students will know, tells the story of the beautiful village girl, Sidhi, the titular “jewel”, and the two men in the village – the “lion”, Baroka, who is the traditional, older village chieftain and Lakunle, the young, modern schoolteacher – who both desire her. The play presents various postcolonial themes, such as the Past vs. the Present, the Corruption of African culture, Women in Postcolonial Societies and Notions of Identity. The play is also known for its elaborate use of song, dance and other ritualistic elements.

The NDC, birthed in the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama (NSTAD) and made up of its alumni, is becoming known for its progressive, cutting-edge body of work and this production of The Lion and the Jewel is sure to contribute to the outstanding oeuvre that the Company is building for itself. Company members, Ayanna Waddell and Nicholas Singh, are the directors of the play and they say that one of the reasons why the NDC decided that The Lion and the Jewel was chosen as the Company’s next production is because it was one that allowed elements of Caribbean performance – music, dance, etc. – to play a major role on stage, and also because the play is on the CSEC syllabus and it was felt that this was another good opportunity to help the students by bringing the play to life. Waddell says that education, and the role of drama in the education of the nation’s students is one of the key goals of the National Drama Company and the upcoming production is fits well with the NDC’s mandate to educate through the talents and creativity that is present within the organization.
Singh confesses that staging Soyinka’s play has been both a challenge and an exciting venture, acknowledging the popularity of the play and the fact that Soyinka is one of the most famous African writers of this era. “I find his work very rich and his use of his language so emotionally-invested…” says the director about Soyinka, before also pointing out that “His [Soyinka’s] characters, his themes…are so important not only in Africa, but universally in what they speak of…how they unite people.” The intimidating part of the play, according to Singh, lay in precisely capturing the essence and meaning of the work. Waddell agreed with her co-director and also pointed out another merit of the production in that it called upon a variety of elements to blend harmoniously together and was one that allowed the Company to step away from the simple and the norm and “do something that can help you to go places” that you wouldn’t be able to with the more conventional types of drama that is known to the Guyanese audience.
One of the most important elements in the play, according to Singh, is pantomime. He notes that Soyinka has great visual flair and a history of using pantomime, song and dance in his plays to create a jubilant atmosphere and bring out his themes and show, as in The Lion and the Jewel, not only African culture but also the effects of European culture on African culture through colonization.

Waddell noted that while there is not much time left until the date of the production, she is confident about the show being a success because they were able to find a collaborative and creative space where everyone in the team can work together. The use of dance and music in the play calls for a lot of different synchronizations and abilities and this means that it was important to allow all the people involved to play to their various skills. For example, the dances in the play are choreographed by Esther Hamer and by having her take care of that aspect of the play, a system was created that allows everyone to play to their strengths in an individual manner before everyone is reeled in to make the complete play within the holistic vision that comes from the directors.
The directors highlighted the fact that Soyinka’s characters are very detailed and very smartly-written, and therefore it was necessary that they incorporated a skilled, intelligent cast of actors to play the various parts. Tashandra Inniss plays the part of Sidhi, Keon Heywood plays the role of Baroka, and Lakunle is being essayed by Linden Isles, while Esther Hamer and Kimberly Fernandes round out the main cast and a variety of other roles will be played by other members of the National Drama Company as well as past and present students of the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama. The directors are grateful for actors and are aware of how necessary it is to have a spirit of collaboration, to have actors who are willing to put in extra work and to have a team that comes together to ensure that the production is a success – elements that they do seem to have found within the cast they have put together.
The directors also believe that the production should be seen by everyone, not only students, because the play is one that is very different from what people are used to. It is a good opportunity to see something different. The directors say that drama, as an art medium, is often taken for granted and The Lion and the Jewel has an important message for everyone, and that while it is important for students it is also important for the general public to see what the National Drama Company has achieved and to see the level of work that the Company is putting out. The shows are set for April 4th and 5th, at 1 PM, at the National Cultural Centre.