By Francis Quamina Farrier
THERE is a great measure of euphoria is Guyana following the visit of the Guyana-born superstar Letitia Wright. The shining movie star recently paid a well-appreciated visit to the land of her birth. After her action-packed screen visit to “WAKANDA,” where “The Black Panther” strides, Letitia Wright is now enjoying all the fame and adoration which she richly deserves. With such a high-profile visit, there were some areas of unease. Many citizens have stated openly that “Ms Wright ought to have been given a day to rest immediately after she arrived. After all, she is human.” Similar comments were mentioned time and time again by concerned persons.
Those retired Theatre veterans — especially from the Ministry of Culture and the Department of Culture of the past — were proficient in planning such itineraries, and would have reserved the day of the arrival of Ms Wright, a day for her to rest after her long flight to Guyana. Some Guyanese, on the other hand, made some rather outlandish statements regarding the attire Ms Wright donned, as she toured the country, claiming that she was dressed too casually. There were many rebuttals to those unfounded criticisms. “Wait, alyoh expect the lady to wear evening gown everywhere, and anywhere?” was a firm comment by those who were as practical as the honoured visitor.
From where I stand, I have to say that Letitia Wright is loved, adored and respected by the majority of her fellow Guyanese. It is also appropriate to mention that she stands on the broad shoulders of a few of her fellow Guyanese who left these shores during the 1950s and 1960s. They departed the Magnificent Province, went to the British Isles, and made Guyana proud. I now mention three of them, ladies first: Carmen Munroe, who hails from Berbice, has been a shining light as an actress in the United Kingdom since 1961. She has performed on stage and television, including the extremely popular TV series “DESMOND’S, in which fellow Guyanese, and the most popular Black actor in Britain in the 1960s to 1980s, Norman Beaton, played the title role.
Also extremely popular in British theatre in the 1960s was Cy Grant, who hailed from Beterverwagting (BV), East Coast Demerara. Cy Grant had served in the Second World War and was a Prisoner of War for two years before he was released. He immediately returned to the performing Arts — theatre and folk music. Added to those, Cy Grant qualified as a Barrister-at-Law. On his last visit to Guyana in 1971, Cy Grant did two sold-out concerts at the Theatre Guild Playhouse in Georgetown.
Letitia Wright stayed in Guyana for a little while, during which time, she also met and interacted with Guyanese Theatre practitioners at the Theatre Guild Playhouse. I imagined that before the meeting, many local theatre practitioners were holding their breaths, and waiting to exhale, but the meeting came to fruition and much hope was given for their own careers.
