Theatre Review… Truth delivered with uncanny jest and Flair

Aug 11, 2013 News

Fete, Marriage and Murder –
Play performed at St Augustine Girls School, Trinidad
Reviewer: Dr Glenville Ashby

Truth is oftentimes said in jest. It is a dictum that aptly describes this compendium of short plays by university lecturer and prolific social critic, Dr Jerome Teelucksingh. He uses the medium of theatre to raise issues impacting society.
Fete, Marriage and Murder is a series of short plays delivered with comedic flair, panache, and a healthy dose of Trinbagonian argot, adding a rich tapestry to an otherwise trite, even bare stagecraft. Teelucksingh compensates for this shortcoming with a vibrant script and an eclectic range of performances that grasp audiences from the opening salvo to the last utterance. For content and delivery, this compendium of plays offers pedantic, albeit pedestrian commentaries through the prism of the common folk, in stark black and white terms.
That Teelucksingh adds “Fete” to the title is misleading. After all, the word is used to describe an unforgiving bash, pure bacchanal. In Tribagonian terms, such a scenario is hardly present. But hardly a literalist, Teelucksing can be forgiven. Maybe the effervescent, free spirited style of the craft, are in some ways, fete-like.
In Fete and Rum Save the Environment, Teelucksingh infuses biblical injunctions to the environmental question. It drives home the grave issue of global scope. “The pastor” hoists the message, exhorting with scriptural colour and tone – his “green” message is deftly couched in religious terms. He is outlandishly eccentric, bellowing: “Pesticides are evil…farmers spray pesticides on food, we get sick and die. The farmers who use it are also evil.” He continues to rant: “…deodorant and aerosol sprays are creations of Satan. These products release chlorofluorocarbons which deplete the ozone layer…” to the shouts of “Amen.”
In Marriage, group culture and individualism collide. Capturing the unpredictability of arranged marriages, the urbane leaning Hafsah dodges her parents’ choice – a mentally troubled young man whose imaginary companions show up at the first meeting. It’s side-splitting humour that does not overwhelm the writer’s overriding message. In the end the Hafsah triumphs over the wishes of her parents and marries a man of her choice – without breaking the cultural thread. The East Indian wedding unfolds. Here, traditionalism and modernity coexist. Confrontation and domestic upheaval are really unnecessary.
Pure theatre but short on cinematographic ambition, the playwright fluidly traverses history, culling some major events from the island’s checkered past. Here, his work is loudest, vibrating with emotion and rivetting appeal.
Murderers in Uniform defines Teelucksingh’s work. He captures the foreboding spectre of life under colonial rule in Trinidad. It is history played out, unsanitized and frighteningly real. Timeless lessons are well learned, if only we could implement them. The Hosay riots of the 1860s on the heels of the Camboulay tragedy spell out the struggle for cultural expression and independence. It is a portrayal that yearns for inter-ethnic dialogue and accommodation. The struggle against oppression would be that much easier. In the throes and triumphs of history, Teelucksingh is in his element. The characters excel – their dramatic display, captivating. “Yuh hear dat de government ban de Hosay dis year? Hosein enquires. “Dey cyah do dat. Dem white people mad or wot.” The threat of violence looms as one actor warns: “Buh de police did recently beat Africans for dem celebrations….”
The scene – the violent suppression of Hosay is wrenching. Shots ring out: “OH JESUS CHRIST!! WILLIAMS, COME QUICK and HELP ME HERE!” He bleeding plenty. Dem police do the same ting in Canboulay.” “EVERYBODY RUN..DEY SHOOTING WE.”
But hope for interethnic unity against oppression is ever present. Both groups – Indians and Africans – understand their collective experiences and struggles. We hear of “Indians coming together from different castes and religions,” for Hosay.
What is more significant is the comment by one of the lead character, Roop: “But wot frightening de colonial government is dat Negroes involved in it. Racial unity is threat for de government.”
“Mother’s Day” is a warm but tepid play, a far cry from Office of Principal of Saghview with its touch of humour and Sopheclean irony.
Teelucksingh’s magic slowly evaporates as Fete, Marriage and Murder tapers off with the incredulous overreach, “Everlasting Hate,” which covers lots of ground just to prove the potentially internecine side of jealousy.
Alas, bleeding with Trinbagonian lingo, Fete, Marriage and Murder is at times shrouded in the provincial, losing universal appeal at a life-threatening pace. An unfortunate paradox to an otherwise compelling look at society.

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Fete, Marriage and Murder by Dr Jerome Teelucksingh
Rating: Recommended