Classic Brazilian play for mega festival

Aug 21, 2008 News

As part of the unique contributions to Carifesta X, a play entitled ‘Pluft, The Little Ghost’ will be staged next Wednesday August 27, at the National Cultural Centre, and on Sunday August 24, at the Lichas Hall in Linden.

The play, written in 1955 by Brazilian Maria Clara Machado, Brazil’s most important children’s author, is being performed by an all-Guyanese cast under the direction of both Gem Madhoo-Nascimento and Margaret Lawrence.

The children’s play has been staged all over the world and is quite famous. The musical adaptation has been done by Sean Bhola and the play is produced by Gems Productions.

Translated by the Director of Brazilian Studies in Guyana, Leonardo Souto, the play is about a little ghost, Pluft, who lives in an attic with his mother and uncle.

Pluft is scared of people rather than the other way around. His mother often admonishes him that people ought to be scared of him.

Maribel is the granddaughter of the famously wealthy Captain Bonanca Rainbow and is kidnapped by the pirate Cork Foot. After being kidnapped by a pirate, Maribel is taken to the house where the ghosts live.

Maribel’s three mariner friends go off in search of her and after some amount of shenanigans, they find her.
In the end, the pirate is captured and the ghosts, Maribel and her three mariners all become friends and live happily ever after.

According to Lawrence, she was approached by Souto to direct the play, as part of the Brazilian contribution to Carifesta. Apparently, the Brazilian embassy wanted the play to be performed by Guyanese.
The play is expected to be very well received in both Georgetown and Linden.