A review of CARIFESTA

Sep 14, 2008 News

---

By Ken Corsbie
One year ago, the Diaspora was split between believers and unbelievers. I was firmly of the latter. We heard that CARIFESTA X was to be hosted by The Bahamas and how they had requested more time to plan and implement effective systems for such a huge undertaking and now Guyana was going to take it on with just one year’s notice!

 

We had every right to be very skeptical, and I’m sure many Caribbean artists felt the same. At the same time, there was the forever optimistic “glass half full” Guyanese in the Diaspora who were filled with nationalistic fervor.

“We’ll show everybody the true Guyanese spirit and enterprise”.” We will relive the glory of the first CARIFESTA in Guyana, 1972.”

The year passed with mounting misgivings for many. Had Guyana taken on much more than it bargained for?
Would there be the personnel, structural, organisational and of course, money? I take up my story just three weeks before CARIFESTA, at which time I had given up on the idea of going, but I received an email from Paloma Mohamed (artistic director of the festival) that she had been able to get the festival’s Secretariat to offer me an air ticket. Two weeks later I received the ticket… and so I’m there three days before the grand opening.

I’ve been back home in Long Island, NY for about a week and can now look back with some objectivity.
However, I will leave critical comments for a more appropriate forum, and very briefly note the positives I experienced. Everybody involved from the Prime Minister to the ushers were working very hard and diligently to make it work under almost overwhelming stress.

There were almost endless activities scheduled at any one time all over the city and far into and across the country, from Berbice to Anna Regina (Essequibo), from Georgetown to Linden to Bartica.

Art, Art, Art, usually of very high quality was everywhere – Umana Yana, Castellani House, the Gymnasium, Sophia, Conference Centre and the National Park.

Carefully planned opening and closing ceremonies – the sheer size of the almost new National Stadium sometimes got the better of the well laid plans.

The work to implement those programmes must have been monumental on a nationwide scale. Daily Literary readings, book launchings and exhibitions by the (it seems) hundreds.

The new Theatre Guild is a very special treat for both audience and performers – I was thrilled to have been scheduled to perform my HE-ONE show on that completely rehabilitated stage before a full house. TG was “sold out” every night, no matter what programme was on.

The year and a half of the rebuilding process had generated an enormous interest in this precious performing space. It seems that the entire business and Government community made it possible.

Frank Thomasson launched his full-bodied book THE HISTORY OF THEATRE IN GUYANA 1800-2000. What a historic and thrilling moment for we who had been part of that history – naming names are dangerous, but I take a plunge – Frank’s wife Aileen, Ron Robinson, Francis Farrier, Gem Madhoo, Clairmonte Taitt, Henry Muttoo, Daphne Rogers, Ian McDonald, Diana Abraham, Sheila King, Eugene Williams – there were others and we all had to be there. I’ve stayed on the TG experience for understandable reasons. I confess now that it was almost the major reason I wanted to be at CARIFESTA X.

Three days before the opening, there was an enormous public rush for first come first served free tickets to every venue – the system broke down on the second day, and it was declared that tickets would not be needed for anything anywhere.

This must have been and will continue to be a huge cost factor to Guyana, but it meant total participation by everybody at all events. I suspect people were turning up to venues without even knowing or caring what was on the programme, and sitting through and showing open appreciation for whatever was on that night.

There was efficient driver/vehicle transport for all delegations to all venues.
The many small private hotels and guest houses now found throughout Greater Georgetown were comfortable and well serviced.

I stayed part of the time in the Regency Hotel in Hadfield Street, opposite the still very impressive Brickdam Cathedral – comfortable, friendly, and efficient. I was in touch with only five official people throughout my stay – Paloma Mohammed (the festival’s Artistic Director), Russel Lancaster (a general assistant to Paloma), Diana Abraham (volunteer temporary Manager of TG – going back home to Toronto this week), and Allison, an always swamped key person in the secretariat, and Gem Madhoo-Nascimento who was directing three events at the same time. Everybody seemed to be doing two, three or even four jobs at the same time.

That is the endemic problem with relatively small countries – too few skilled people having to do too many tasks.
Under the conditions, they all kept their cool and were efficient as the unforgiving circumstances allowed. Bahamas should take a hard look at this aspect. I saw several Diaspora Guyanese back home helping in one way or another – Malcolm Hall of Guyfolkfest in NY was everywhere.

I regret that I missed much too many great events but must mention three specials: apart from Thomasson’s book launching- GRAVITY is Tricia Collins’ one-woman play out of Vancouver, Canada at the Theatre Guild.

She tells the story of her Chinese great grand mother who was kidnapped and brought to the Caribbean. Very originally presented.

ONE BLACK ONE WHITE – an original two-hander play out of the Cayman Islands, directed/designed by Guyana’s Henry Muttoo who is one of the Caribbean’s finest dramatists. Well written, exquisitely acted on the TG stage.

The literary readings in the womblike Amerindian benab, the Umana Yana. All around and between were the fine sculptures and paintings by Guyanese Amerindian artist, George Simon. The organiser/emcee/producer was writer/critique Petamber Persaud.

He invited me to perform Caribbean poetry on three evenings of readings. Many of the “big ones” read at one time or another – Barbadian Austin Clarke, Trinidadian Earl Lovelace, Guyanese Peter Jailall, David Dabydeen, to name just four  and all the time, every day, it seems 12 hours a day, there was a TV channel with bits and pieces and also live broadcasts of CARIFESTA events. Quite remarkable and I’m sure, an outstanding festival “first”.

Ken Corsbie is “Caribbean Voices”
[email protected] www.kcorsbie.com

---

---