IRVINITES GATHERED en masse at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts on Thursday night to witness their hall's five contributions to the Tallawah drama competition. The University Dramatic Arts Society (UDAS), Chancellor Hall and Kumbinashun also performed. The night turned out to be one of the most interesting so far, simply through the variety it offered. However, the set changes lagged far too often.
UDAS started the night on a comic yuletide note with Andrew Canon's performance of 'Christmas Thief' by Paul Keens Douglas. 'Christmas Thief' is a Trinidadian interpretation of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas'. In this instance, Santa Claus is mistaken for a barefaced, crazy, criminal.
The monologue was a very witty piece and Canon's performance went over very nicely with the audience. 'Suislide', performed by Chancellor Hall's Travolta Alexander, followed. In what could have been a very interesting work about the seductiveness of time and death, Alexander was seduced by sexual references and lost his way. Nonetheless, the audience seemed to enjoy all sexual references and cheered at each one, excepting when he flirted with blasphemy. One member of the audience noted that the monologue was either too deep or stupid for him to understand.
UDAS again returned to the stage with 'Too Late', the first of three religious pieces for the night. The monologue depicted a priest's horror, pain and anger when, after murdering his wife's (it is never explained why a priest has a wife) rapist he is sent to hell. It is from hell that he yells his anger and eventual regret. While Martin Thame's performance met with much heckling, it demonstrated a lot of imagination and talent and was well received.
Disappointing
Chancellor Hall's second contribution for the night, 'Book, Book, Book' by Andre Pryce, was one of the night's more disappointing pieces. The best thing about this performance was the accidental opening and closing of the curtains and the use of 'Redemption Song', both of which had the audience cheering.
Irvine Hall's first contribution for the night, 'Alpha and Omega', continued the night's religious bent. The piece demonstrated originality, as it used Genesis, Revelation and science to argue for God's existence. It was the first piece that was able to make the packed theatre stay quiet.
Irvine's next contribution was a nicely performed rendition of Pamela Mordecia's 'Pig's Tale'. This was quickly overshadowed, however, by 'Herstory, History, Ourstory: Then and Now', another of the hall's contributions. This performance had the audience enraptured from beginning to end. It began with a monologue performed by Simone Harris, who began her speech perched atop the ledge near the theatre's entrance. This was only the first thing to set the performance apart from the pack.
This first segment dealt with the struggles of the black woman from slavery through to the present. Soon after, she was joined by Damion Clarke. Together, the two engaged in a well-choreographed dance about escalating political violence with the aim of winning more votes. In an attempt to steal boxes, the dancers, dressed in black with an orange or green band, went from using simple sticks to a handgun and then to a machine gun. While the audience had cheered at the escalating violence, when both dancers faced off with guns drawn, shouts of "put it down" and "dat wrong" could be heard.
As the two ended in unity, colours removed, one audience member stated "If a only so it woulda go." Cheers of "Irvine! A Big Side" ripped through the audience as the curtain closed.
'Jamaican Stories (In honour of Miss Lou)' was Irvine Hall's next piece. This consisted of performances of some of Louise Bennett's more famous stories, monologues and songs. The costuming for the different characters was excellent and the songs exceeded the speech portions in their ability to entertain. Nonetheless, when the rendition of 'Colonisation in Reverse' was done the audience responded with a voluntary 'ayayai'.
Irvine Hall's final performance for the night was 'Betrayal'. This was a well-written piece about the disbanding of an extra-marital affair. While the piece was somewhat amusing, it was not able to deliver on its potential.
The final performance, 'The Potter's House' came from Kumbinashun. The group consists of members of the UDAS, University's Dance Society, Camera Club, Chorale, and Singers. The play deals with the fact that in God's (The Potter) house problems can be solved. It actually followed no real plot but display wonderful singing and good choreography. Additional-ly, Natalie Nicholson must be commended on her performance.
