While there has been a kind of cooling off in the offer of plays on the popular commercial market, there has been a stepping up of activity on the Guyanese stage. While falling gate receipts have generally dampened the enthusiasm of producers and the march of popular plays at the National Cultural Centre has been checked, progress in theatre on other fronts has definitely advanced.
2016 has seen only three full-length plays offered commercially to the public so far in a four-month period, which is definitely a slowdown. Yet a number of factors led to the creation of several new plays, greater experimentation, bolder departures from the norm, more directorial courage, some innovation and a greater frequency of plays being performed. The only sobering fact is that this development is dominated by one-act plays with really few full-length. At the same time, social issues more than laughter, and continued social realism dominate this new movement that gained ground during the past four years.
This is due to a number of factors. The National Drama Festival was established. There was a Merundoi training programme followed by a festival of plays. There has been a resuscitation of the Theatre Guild One-Act festivals. The National School of Theatre Arts and Drama (NSTAD) and the
