- RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Members of the cast of 'Zu-Zu Macca', the LTM 2005 National Pantomime presented an excerpt at the Institute of Jamaica on Thursday December 12. 'Zu-Zu Macca' opened on Boxing Day.Teino Evans, Staff Reporter
DESPITE THE faithful who, like clockwork, eagerly await and attend almost every major theatre production, some play producers o are still not satisfied with the support they are getting.
Although the year has just begun, theatre fans already have a few productions to choose from, among them Zu-Zu Macca (the National Pantomime) at the Little Little Theatre, Hot Spot at the Little Little Theatre, Class of '73 at Centrestage Theatre and True Colours at the Pantry Playhouse.
In addition, there are long-running plays from last year, among them Jamaica 2 Rhatid, which continues to play at the Barn Theatre.
According to Susan Harris, "whether it's roots play, pantomime or dance production, I am at almost every one of them. We always look out for them each year, because traditionally we go as a family and everyone can just enjoy a relaxing evening and laugh and forget about our worries for the moment".
LOVE FOR THEATRE
"I have been to see all of them - Breadfruit Kingdom, Oliver and Pinocchio, Cinderellisha and the Deejay Prince, Ras Noah and the Hawk - whole heap a dem. Trus' mi, the theatre is fun, because we use to guh Pantomime and from there we develop a love for the theatre and other little plays that come up," another woman who asked not to be named told The Sunday Gleaner.
Lenford Salmon, administrative director, Jambiz International Limited (operators of Centrestage and producers of the annual Jambiz Christmas Production, as well as other productions) says he has seen no significant increase in the theatre industry within the last five years.
"I haven't really seen an increase, the increase really started to happen in the 1980s and it happened with roots theatre, surprisingly, and people began to recognise that this could provide their kind of entertainment and from there it then went into mainstream, where they started to produce more Jamaican plays," Salmon said.
SOPHISTICATED AUDIENCE
However, Salmon says compared to concerts "it's (theatre) still nowhere where we would want it to be, because it still does not get the support that these other shows get. At any theatre performance we usually have anywhere between 150 to 200 persons", he said. This is in comparison to the thousands which can turn out for a concert.
"A theatrical show takes just as much to produce but it's just that the returns are nowhere as much and our audience has become far more sophisticated, because the media portrays the international standards," he said.
According to Salmon, individual roots plays and other productions have managed to hit big.
"Passa Passa really did phenomenally well out there. It hit not only in Jamaica but also in other parts of the world like North America and I usually take my productions into the Eastern Caribbean as well," Salmon said.
GROSSLY OVERPRICE
Plays running on some days during the week and throughout the entire weekend, when sometimes there are two shows in one night.
However, regular theatregoer Junior Shaw suggests a reason why the theatre might not be getting as large a turnout as other live performance productions .
According to Shaw, "the theatre is just another form of recreation for me but I think it is grossly overpriced and persons run the risk of attending a normally good show on a bad night for the cast.
"Investigation of the plays, for example reading critical reviews, is key for me, and even then the reviews run the risk of being influenced by the biases of the reviewer," Shaw further stated.
