An interesting, different, very significant and perhaps fairly unusual production was presented on stage at the Theatre Guild Playhouse a week ago. “Greens and Golds 2: Guyana We Bawn” presented by Kreative Arts, a young and growing performing arts company directed by Jonathan Hamer and Esther Hamer had innovation and originality.
The production was dominated by dance, reflecting what seems to be the main interest and focus of the company, but integrated a good deal of drama and dramatisation, stage movement, music and poetry. The use and meaning in the printed programme of the designations “Debutante 1” and “Debutante 2” were not self-evident in most of the performance items, but the show was clearly presented by a mixed group, including experienced practitioners.
There was a dominant cast of children including at least one three-year-old, who, like the other children, had an amazing sense of purpose on stage with an understanding of the pieces they were in, self image and stage presence. They were, of course, obviously amateurs, and most likely debutantes, but one of the striking things about the performance was the way those children were managed, the way they danced, and their suggested understanding of the pieces. In some cases, it was evident that they were being trained to perform, which is not surprising, considering that the outfit Kreative Arts includes a dance school with children as students. It seemed even the youngest of them were taken seriously in whatever tutoring they received. In some instances where children and adults performed together, there was a fair degree of cohesion.
