Better The Devil You Know Review

P. Anthony White’s classic play, Better The Devil You Know saw a return to the stage this year thanks in part to the St Agnes Players and director Anthony ‘Skeebo” Roberts. The tale follows the exploits of a divorced couple in New York, 1980. The tagline refers to the play as a romantic comedy but there was really little romance. Instead, White’s tale offers something other plays this year did not – an insight into the human condition of both men and women. What followed was an introspective look into many themes, namely gender identity, migration and Post-Colonialism – not a small feat for such an old play.

Visiting from The Bahamas, Virginia (J. Camille King) finds that she is unable to adapt to the cold environs of New York. To make matters worse, Paul Christie (Anthony Roberts), her former husband takes up board in the same apartment. What ensues is an interesting dynamic between the two who share old stories and slice open new wounds. I found it interesting that the core action of the play (what the characters wanted) was written in the subtext as opposed in the literal – something most modern Bahamian plays do not do. Essentially Virginia wants to reconnect with Paul and vice versa. However, Virginia’s intentions are masked in malice and bitterness. Paul, who had manipulated their marriage of almost fifteen years, reveals that he could not love another woman and found it hard to move on—so much so that his current love interest is also named Virginia. At the core of White’s play is the fantastic issue of the human soul and love. This play is about a man and a woman trying to reconnect with each other and not knowing how. Isn’t that how we operate? Both are alcoholics, both lie, cheat and manipulate the other for whatever gain is available. For me this was the “AHA” moment of the play which is again, something that happens rarely.

Out of all of the clashes come great scenes that could have benefited from some dramaturgy though. Virginia and Leslie spent too much time giving exposition when more meaningful conversations could have occurred. The characters spent most of the play drinking and I mean drinking, drinking like sailors after a hurricane drinking. That’s all well and good but this drowning of sorrows in alcohol is never addressed in the play by the characters on a serious level. Why should they? Simply because the drinking has much to do with celebrating their daughter’s wedding as it does about the fact that these former lovers are nervous about staying with each other. It’s a way to dull the pain of a failed marriage that still stings them like it happened last night.

Both Leslie and Eva were unnecessary characters that had no action. To make matters worse the actresses were none too good either. Leslie (Zena Cooper) seemed to have one voice setting – which was set at 11 - whereas Eva (Emily Osadebay) who provided comic relief in her appearances in key moments never got to capitalize on her entrance, she would merely stagger off stage a few seconds later mumbling a line or two. I think with a little dramaturgy the play would have been a ton more interesting with just Paul, Virginia and a better developed Eva.

Roberts and King did a decent job opposite each other, but I feel with a little more rehearsal time and some more coaching for King, their performances could have been fantastic. Roberts knew what he was doing – this is familiar territory for him – but King seemed to be getting her feet wet again. This became apparent to me when King was first opposite Cooper. Sorry to say but her performance was like the sinking Titanic, but once Roberts joined her there was a noticeable change in her acting. I would have liked to have seen that from the beginning.

The stage was pretty dynamic and good measure was used to take advantage of the living and dining room and the upstairs area. I must say, other than Woman Take Two and the two previous Shakespeare plays done by Shakespeare In Paradise, I’ve never seen such a complex set design. The lights, music, props and costumes were incorporated superbly and only complemented the vast and glorious set.

As this is Roberts directorial debut I believe he managed to put on an entertaining evening. With time I hope to see more and more performances from the St. Agnes Players, ones that are as insightful as White’s.

New Blog

So I created a new blog the other day. I know what I want it to be, so I'll see if that's what it will become. For now you can follow the link and see for yourself if Bahamian drama is your cup of tea -- and please fret not, this blog isn't going anywhere.

http://bahamiandrama.wordpress.com/

The Cabinet Review

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to The Cabinet, a play about politics in The Bahamas. That’s right another political satire about our government. I can hear the other critics now...deep heaving sighs mixed with vodka shots and a great melancholy with ponderings on why God, why don’t they write something else for a change, or a, I thought of that ten friggin years ago can’t they be more original? I know how some of you feel, but please fret not, this was a play more about the human condition than anything and it worked! That’s right, it was good.

On April 1st, The Cabinet premiered at The Dundas Centre for The Performing Arts to a warm and enthusiastic audience. The play mirrors to an extent the events that occurred in The Bahamas at the turn of the century. Sir Lymon Leadah, former Prime Minister for over thirty years has just passed away and in that wake the current Prime Minsiter, Reggie Moxey, is conflicted about a promise he made to the people to only serve two terms in office. However after Lymon’s ghost starts appearing to Reggie, he decides to concoct a plan that would ensure his position as Prime Minister in years to come.

Written by Ward Minnis and directed by Dr. Ian Strachan, the play is set in the fictional isles of The Archipelago and stars Chigoze Ijeoma as Reginald Moxey, Ward Minnis as Jerome Cartwright, Ian Strachan as Sir Limon Leadah, Sophia Smith as Latoya Darling, Matthew Wildgoose as Kendrick Johnson and Arthur Maycock Jr as Fenton Green. In our tiny nation, this counts as an all-star cast. So with these points in mind, let’s see how The Cabinet fairs.

What it did right

It made me laugh. Then it made me laugh again and some more after that too until I was busting my guts. Yeah, some of the jokes, puns and acting may have been a bit cheesy in some spots, but together as a cohesive piece, the comedy shone through like the glittering piece of British humor it reminds me of. That’s right, I went there, Britain! Matthew Wildgoose proved once again that he is a comical genius in any role given to him. As Kendrick, Wildgoose showed a dynamic of not just performing over the top idiocy, but also quiet moments of inner turmoil that just busted guts. Wildgoose is no newcomer to the scene either; he’s been acting for over five years now and proves that comedy is his comfort zone. Minnis as Cartwright was fantastic. He was never too overbearing but had the right amount of range to pull off the comical bits written for the exceptionally dry character. Ijeoma should be here as well, but I actually found him limited in his acting and we’ll talk about that later.

The script was well written and a decent job was done to bring it to the stage. And while we’re talking about the stage, it was set up in three spaces, Cartwright’s front room, Moxey’s office and his study at home. The spaces were dynamic and well placed. No one space blocked the view of another. I appreciate that as Moxey’s study table could have easily blocked any of the other two spaces from view.

What it could have done better

Moxey’s character is a direct caricature of a certain Prime Minister, but you knew that, the man was miming Hubert’s voice and laugh for goodness sakes. However, I found that very voice too soft to hear at times, and honestly I heard the laugh once despite him doing it in almost every scene. Ijeoma’s problem was, he never projected to the audience, except for the two instances where he shouted. To make matters worse, after the intermission he didn’t ride the laughs anymore. What I mean is, he said a funny line, the audience laughed and while we were laughing he continued with his line. Know what that means, we missed the line. That’s not cool.

And while we’re talking about Ijeoma, I felt his acting was flat. But now get this, when I read The Cabinet his character was not. I had similar problems with Latoya and Fenton, but sadly they were written flat. They were only meant to be catalysts, nothing more. This means that Ijeoma had some bad direction. When he was meant to seem melancholy, excited or deeply touched, I didn’t believe him because he was not displaying the range expected of the part.

Sir Lymon Leadeah was an interesting character as he had the most dynamic scenes with Moxey. However I felt these two really could have capitalized on some scenes better than they did, especially the father-son moment they shared in their final scene. I feel the comedy was played more than the emotional connection I was looking for in a scene like that.

I can see the stones heading my way now! “Stone that bastard!” they shout. “What he know anyway?” I sorry, I sorry!

Back on track, The Cabinet was fantastic ya! It’s just what we needed back in 2007, an actual play about the government, but here it is now and it’s still funny. Like I said before, the script is fantastic – it works. Does that mean it’s not without flaws? No, it has some, but that’s ok. Nobody cares; this production was well done and shows that Dr. Strachan is slowly moving forward in his role as director. If you are looking for a good night of laughs then look no further, The Cabinet aims to please and returns to The Dundas on April 7^th.

Not My Good Child Review

Stirring, but not much of a dramatic play...

If you ask any Bahamian on the street who Michael Pintard is, you’ll get a resounding, “He’s one playwright and a poet ya see.” If you ask anyone in theatre who Michael Pintard is, you’ll get a, “He’s one of the most serious and business oriented writers we have.” Well one or two might say that. Regardless, Pintard is as famous as drama writers (he’s not a playwright) get in this country. He’s up there with Ian Strachan, Nicolette Bethel and Telcine Turner.

For the past month Pintard has staged his newest play Not My Good Child between Grand Bahama and Nassau. NMGC tackles the theme of violence in the community. Like its tagline, it is a timely piece that does just what good drama is supposed to do – hold a mirror up to society. With that said, let’s look at what worked and what didn’t work in this production.

The Good.

One of the best attributes of the production was the acting. No matter how stony faced audiences tried to be, everyone left the theatre shaken. Pintard’s cast hit home with their charismatic and haunting performances. There were good comedic moments as well, but perhaps the only disappoint of the acting was that it was limited. The cast never really had any scenes to actually do anything – they just preached.

The stage was well utilized as a means to convey this sort of performance. On stage right was a group of upper middle class citizens consisting of Osborn the MP, Edwina the lawyer, Will the accountant and Edwina’s maid. They meet to discuss ways to tackle crime, but end up pointing fingers as to whose fault crime is. On stage left, the criminals defended their actions via soliloquies – which felt awkward at first. In the end, two worlds were represented in two very different spaces. Whilst the group’s space was homely and warm (representing security), the criminals space was bare with only a dim spotlight showing their presence –representing uncertainty.

The Bad.

This was not a dramatic play. NMGC isn’t a play, or a piece of drama at all. It’s more of a collection of soliloquies. High energy, teary eyed, shouting to the roof soliloquies. There were over nine of these speeches. Over nine. That’s nine too many. Plays have structure (a beginning, middle and an end). They build towards the high energy, teary eyed high point of dramatic tension. To stage a production that is basically nine orgasms but no fun of the actual sex gets old. In fact, the best part of a play is the build up to that dramatic high point right before catharsis. Now theatre of the absurd challenges this structure, but one must understand the conventions that one is breaking. Just a note though, Pintard’s stuff isn’t absurdist. I understand that this is how Pintard stages his stuff, but let’s be honest; he can’t take his productions anywhere else in the world and get good reviews, so I’m not cutting him any slack here.

There was no overarching story. Every character that came on stage had their own story about how they got caught up in violence, but none of them were connected to each other or the group’s story. It created this open mic night sort of atmosphere. This left me wanting more. I wanted to know more about these characters and just how crime really impacted their lives before the tension filled speeches hit my ears.

The Ugly

Production wise, Pintard should not have used microphones. Part of the theatre process for an actor is to project him/herself to the audience. Microphones make actors lazy on stage. It also causes the audience unneeded hearing problems. For instance, two soliloquies both had shouting performances. Shouting into the microphone equaled loss of hearing on my part and disturbed my enjoyment of the piece.

Whenever the four member group had a scene, lights came up. When the other members of the cast had to deliver soliloquies, the very dim spotlight was used. This spotlight was so dim I couldn’t actually see the actor, so I found myself looking at other things and only returning my gaze to said actor once they started shouting. However, I can’t really hold this against them as this was their first performance at The Dundas.

The group itself was obsolete. They acted as mediators between the different characters soliloquies where their job was to bring the energy down. However, when Osborn and Willy started having shouting matches; it didn’t work out so well, thus failing. After an hour and a half I dreaded having to hear Edwina tell the two men to stop bickering or watch the maid clean the bookstand for the fiftieth time.

The production also got preachy – which you never want to do to your audience. Instead of showing, characters were telling and expositing. There was so much of it that I never want to hear that word again. Where’s Poitier when you need him? Oh there he is! Poitier give me some showing instead of telling! Ah, that’s better. Where was I?

Theatre is about characters in conflict. But what happens when only the conflict is brought to the stage and no build up is given? Does it work? I don’t think so. NMGC captures the tension, sorrow and anger of a violent country, but I only wish that it was actually a dramatic play. And that is where it falls short.

Wind Jammers Review

“Mudda is sick!!!”

Wednesday 1^st December 2010 saw the premiere of The Bahamian/American film Wind Jammers. A quaint story about a young girl that falls in love with sailing and the evil yacht club president trying to foil her attempts…at sailing. The film was shot on location in The Bahamas with minimal scenes shot in Chicago. Writers Ric Von Maur, Elliot Lowenstien & Michael Ray Brown, attempt to tackle racism in the neo colonial Bahamas whilst also trying to rip your heart out with father/daughter problems. To say that his script was flawed is an understatement. Essentially the writers sat down for six weeks and saw every family comedy made in The United States and then set the script in The Bahamas. Yet it is this western ideology of filmmaking that sells tickets and who's to say that their idea was wrong.

It was a mix bag performance wise. Craig Pinder -- a seasoned theatre actor – gave a candid caricature of the white Bahamian: Which means he delivered the funniest lines in the film. Every character's interaction with Pinder was rewarding for both he and the actor. Justice’s performance lacked substance. Especially considering that she is the lead, one would have expected better. Now, this is not to say that she was horrid because she wasn't. It was her first role and it wasn't her fault she was cast as a tragic mullato. Thankfully the supporting cast was fantastic. Cookie Allen, Tony Roberts, Sean Nottage, Moya Thompson and the rest of the cast did a good job of giving that authentic Bahamian feel to a movie that prides itself on One Bahamas. Even the token white boy giving all the black lines was actually funny.

Production wise this film was awesome. The editing, lighting, sound and choice of shots were great. It’s no Scorsese flick but the directors and the production team did what they needed to do. Yeah there were no scenes that paralleled the hegemonic struggle of the black maids/attendants to potcakes but who needs that in a B movie…on with the corny jokes I say!

The script sucked. I mean sucked. Jesus loving Christ. No. No. No. It had a good idea, even good direction, but you can’t turn apples into peaches. You can’t make brackish water into a peaking wine. You can't turn Martin Lawrence into Sidney Poitier (I've seen 6 of his films in the last month, call it obsession). Ric Von Maur, Elliot Lowenstien & Michael Ray Brown wrote a story that highlighted The Bahamas’ less than talked about racism and discrimination. I liked that. I also liked his metaphor of sailing as freedom. I loved his attention to the sea and to the actual paralleling of potcakes to the black servants – seeking identity in the ruins of colonialism and racism. Yet these pockets of ideas are never really expressed to the fullest of detail. Von Maur takes the Hollywood way out by using the cliché of working things out and togetherness that just fudgemicates (it’s not a word) the bejesus outta me.

With that said, Wind Jammers is worth watching if you’re a Bahamian (or not). Just turn your brain off and enjoy all the unique Bahamian clichés that make the movie bearable. It’s not as bad as I make it sound. I’m just a prick that happens to critique everything – it happens when you’re an English major I’m afraid.

Gamer Review: Race in Video Games - Are Video Games Racist

In my last article my editor thought the acronym RPG meant Real Playing Game when it actually stood for Role Playing Game. I just wanted to clarify that before you all thought I was some incompetent casual gamer type bugger. Good, now that that’s over with, let’s play some Fat Person Shooters or FPS!

Let me ask you something, have you ever played a videogame as a white character? Now, have you ever played a videogame as a black character? Now, that black character, did they eat chicken and watermelon and use slang words signifying their non-existent education? I’m exaggerating, but I think you get my point. Videogames, like all other media, are race sensitive. You’ll be hard pressed to find a Sidney Poitier in videogames, especially in the still racist Japanese videogame market. To prove the racist tendencies in games, let’s look at two specific videogame characters, CJ from Grand Theft Auto San Andreas and Barret from Final Fantasy VII.

If you’ve ever played a GTA game, you know they tend to be on the controversial side. Essentially these games are Scarface meets Miami Vice, The Godfather or Boyz N the Hood. San Andreas draws from the later with its main characters being black in a Los Angeles inspired city. Unfortunately these characters are gang members doing a ton of gangster bullocks. CJ, the protagonist returns home after his mother dies and becomes embroiled in a conflict of race, gangs and class. Along the way he pilfers cars, murders innocent pedestrians, police officers, animals, prostitutes and many more stereotypical things. Now this is by no means solely present in the only GTA game wholly populated with black characters, but it is important to note that black people are portrayed as corrupt – is there one upstanding black character in the game? You tell me. I’m not claiming that RockStar (makers of GTA) are perpetuating racist notions, but I am saying that isn’t it time for a positive black character in one of their games? Are we not tired of seeing blacks stealing cars, and making nothing of their lives? Tommy Vercetti of GTA Vice City is no different from CJ, except that he’s white. Yet there are a ton of video games out there with positive white characters. Look at everyone’s favorite plumber, Mario from Super Mario. All he wants to do is rescue his princess. Metaphorically speaking, he just desires to do the right thing. It’s not farfetched to motivate for change of presentation. If one side is presented, then the other should be represented as well.

Barret from Final Fantasy VII is not as offensive a character as CJ, but he manages to hold his own. First off, Final Fantasy VII is about a group of resistance members fighting an evil electric power company that is stealing land and energy from the planet itself and selling this energy back to the people. Barret heads this group of misfits up until our protagonist, a blond hair blue eyed white boy named Cloud (can you say Arian race) assumes control of the gang (not to be confused with gangsters).

I'm still here sucker!!!

Barret lost his family and an arm to the evil company after it sent hitmen out to destroy his village because they refused to cooperate. Barret literally has a gun for half his arm – a gun. Not to mention the fact that he looks like Mr.T and uses language that would make any parent do a double take at the T rated game. However, considering the fact that the Japanese like to draw blacks with big pink lips and blond hair, I’ll gladly accept the Mr.T look any day. The latest black Final Fantasy character is not as offensive as Barret and actually shows progress.

There are a slew of minor black characters cast in video games including the Mike Tyson inspired Balrog from Street Fighter 2, Jax from Mortal Kombat 2, just to name a few. I could go into detail how Drebin from Metal Gear Solid 4, who is followed by his monkey companion, is a quintessential metaphor for how the Japanese view blacks, but it’s just too offensive. I ask you dear readers, what do you value in your video game experience? I know that we really just want to be entertained, but I ask you to be mindful of the commentary these games make of our society.

Blood

So I wrote this play a while back that has some wild things happening in it. The main character is a psychopath and has a fix for blood. It's been a long time since I worked on it so I'm super psyched to make some headway. I feel I've finally reached a satisfactory draft and I hope that it reaches the stage sometime next year. For now here's a brief scene.

Colin
Well are we doing this?

Suzanna
I’m not in the mood right now. Maybe later. I just went back home last night and…

Colin
Is cool. (pause) Look I’m sorry if I came off kinda…

Suzanna
Perverted?

Colin
Y-Yeah. I can appreciate ya vibe. Truin when my ol man was dead I used ta feel the same way.

Suzanna
Whatever, it’s natural for men to hang out with other men right?

Colin
Sure. Why you asking me as if you een sure?

Suzanna
Truly there is a brain in there? I’m sort of amazed now. Fascinated even. What else don’t I know about you?

Colin
Is it true you beat Jeanette ova da head wit her own dildo?

Suzanna
Well, Jeanette and I couldn’t see eye to eye as it were.

Colin
Yeah…wa happen, I een see her in a minute so you mussy beat her dead bad.

Suzanna

Well it was a pretty hard dildo and you wouldn’t understand Colin, no matter how many times I try to explain it to you and your dick.