By Jairo Rodrigues
If you like the theatre, then Randolph Critchlow wouldn’t be an unfamiliar name to you. Apart from being involved in several plays at the Theatre Guild, Randolph was in this year’s edition of The Link Show.
Drama has always been his interest. Even from a young age Randolph would sit and write poems and songs then perform them at Sunday school. He also acted in skits at vacation bible school.
But the wheels didn’t turn until 2009 when he decided to join the Theatre Guild. He was motivated to do this because of the passion he had further developed for the art form while teaching the performing arts at Tucville Secondary School and with the drama group he created.
Randolph grew up in Linden. Because he was the last of seven children (four of whom were already married when he was born) he mentioned that he grew up among a lot of adults. “This served me well because I felt very protected and it aided in giving me a lot of self-confidence. I can remember at a very young age, playing Scrabble with my older siblings and them giving me really good advice, I can say that I had many good role models to look up to,” he said.
Drama was extinct in his household and schools; whatever little drama he was exposed to in church, he was drawn to. “My love for drama really came from my love for writing; I write everything, songs, short stories, plays, and poems. My love for poetry and the arts in general was really aided by the teachings of Dr Joyce Jonas when I was studying English at the University of Guyana,” he noted.
One of his major driving forces was his strong desire to be a part of the Link Shows, which he grew up watching. After acting in a few plays, writing scripts for the comedy show Ah Different Kinda Thing in 2011, he finally had the opportunity and pleasure to write and act in Link Show 2012. He describes it as the highlight of his young acting career.
His influences come from the better known theatre faces like Ron Robinson, Dr Paloma Mohamed, Margaret Lawrence, Henry Rodney, Malcolm De Freitas, Jennifer Thomas, Simone Dowding among others whom he says he loves and respects so much for paving the way for “the new guard of local theatre”. He also said that he feels privileged to have learned from the likes of them – his inspirations.
“To be involved in drama is like breathing to me. I live drama, and the stage is where I can release the tensions of a stressful world. Some of the greatest moments of my life have come in theatre. There is nothing more satisfying than a satisfied audience, and I have been fortunate to experience that from so many angles, be it actor, writer, poet, songwriter and most recently director. Everything seems to be moving at the speed of light,” Randolph said.
As a playwright his biggest accomplishment to date would have to be the play Saving Grace which he debuted at the Theatre Guild one act festival last week.
As a poet, he said, his biggest accomplishment was writing “Ah Guyanese Thing” which won the Regional and National dramatic poetry competition this year. It was performed by one of his students, Marcia Saul, whom he had coached.
At the Theatre Guild Awards 2011, Randolph won the Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in the Harold Bascom play Makantali directed by Malcolm De Freitas. He said it was great knowing that all his hard work paid off. He said he was exceptionally pleased since it was his first major role in a full length play. “We worked extremely hard during the production and it made me a better actor. I went through six months of preparation and rehearsals for the role, but in the end it was all worthwhile,” he said.
He believes that the best way to promote anything is to produce quality products. “I believe that if we can continue to perfect our craft and market it smartly, the sky is the limit, both locally and internationally,” he said.
On the question of improving local drama, he said, “I would like to say that one thing that is missing is an actors’ union. Actors seriously need to get themselves together and have one united voice, a representative body, so as to up their bargaining power and make representation in cases of mistreatment.”
Randolph, a trained English teacher, has been teaching at Tucville Secondary School for the past 8 years. He describes it as a very fulfilling job; having the chance to shape the lives of so many young people daily.
In the near future he hopes to feature at the National Drama Festival not only as an actor but as writer/director as he is currently writing his fourth play, which he hopes to enter into the festival. In the long run, he hopes to be part of the mainstream setup of local theatre working along with those who love the arts to put Guyana on the world stage. He also hopes to play an integral role in CineGuyana which is in its infancy, and see it move from strength to strength.
He is also currently pursuing a degree in International Relations at the University of Guyana after which he sees himself in a career in politics. He said he has always had a love of politics and wishes to acquire a doctorate in development economics, and give back to Guyana.
Randolph currently lives with his fiancée and his nine-month-old son. He said that his free time would usually be split between home and hanging out at Upscale. He said that he’s not really a party person. He enjoys playing cricket, watching cricket, talking cricket, and every other sport known to man.
He considers himself to be a poet first and anything else after and extended sincere thanks to his family and friends who have always supported him; special gratitude goes to his mother who he feels is the sole reason for his being since she always told him that he could do whatever he desired.
