Marcia Rowe, Gleaner Writer
The 'Barmaid' (left) and 'Cupid' at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts, UWI, Mona, on Sunday.'Inna Mi Heart' gets dramatic treatmentMarcia RoweGleaner WriterIt was Valentine's Day in April. - photos by Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer
It was Valentine's Day in April. At the oven-shaped Philip Sherlock Centre, UWI, Mona, a relative sized audience enjoyed Inna Mi Heart, the third in the Sunday series of MADKOW'S Production Experimental Theatre, or avant-garde theatre (a theatre that attempts to go beyond the standard use of form and content).
First there was Donald 'Emperor' Excell of Cascade in Hanover, who delighted the audience with extracts from some of his love poems on Sunday morning. Decked in red and white shirt, the colours of Valentine, he spouted words of love, as well as questioned love in A Poet Speaks, Confinement, Mission Impossible, Wild Flower, Reality and Rear.
Next was a stage reading entitled Relationship. It is a creative combination of extracts from Joan-Andrea Hutchinson's latest book of love poems, titled Inna Mi Heart - thus the title of the production.
The poems are beautifully written and were well chosen. Hutchinson's use of simile and metaphor explores love, the struggle to love and the ability to love with lines such as "some days relationship is down like human body", "relationship has its up and down", and "mi love for you thick like cornmeal porridge". Expressed in the Jamaican vernacular, the tone of the poems is in contrast to the usually aggressive manner in which the dialect is often presented on stage.
Donald 'Emperor' Excell
Written by Michael Daley and Karl Williams, this poetic drama bears some similarity to the French philosopher and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre's play No Exit. But, unlike Sartre's three characters, there are five characters. A woman who loves a middle-class man, who loves his wife, who loves another man, who returns her love, but he is unable to provide for her materially. In the midst of this love square is a voice of reason in the form of the third woman. The characters are nameless, but they voice the struggles and concerns that individuals face in their relationships.
Giving voice to the production were Donald Anderson, Kerian Lewis, Charl Baker, Scarlett Beharie and Norty Antoine. Although Anderson, who has the most stage experience, was the most passionate in his delivery, the other members of the cast were quite effective. Director Michael Daley and his cast gave a good interpretation of each poem. The set was almost basic and props were minimal.
Finally, the guest of honour, Joan Andrea Hutchinson, was invited to the stage to read selections from Inna Mi Heart. With witty anecdotes and a few sales pitches preceding each extract, she read extracts from Mi Just Love You, Man a Tug, Rasta Love, Thanks for Everyting, Big People Game, Cut Mi Some Slack, Bad Advice and Play Mi. Ironically, it was Hutchinson who at times was not articulate, especially when giving the titles of the poems that she read.
