Al Creighton

Around this time in Guyana and the Caribbean, the arrival of peoples of different ethnic and cultural origins is commemorated.

British High Commissioner Greg Quinn honoured the legacy of William Shakespeare, the greatest playwright of all time, with his third Annual Shakespeare Film Night on April 25.

On Friday last, April 20, Chinese Language Day was observed by the United Nations, one of seven such annual observances.

Darren McAlmont’s Woman In Law 2 played at the National Cultural Centre recently.

Our revels now are ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits, and Are melted into air, into thin air, And like the baseless fabric of this vision The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, And like this insubstantial pageant faded Leave not a rack behind.

Last Wednesday afternoon, a large procession of Christian worshipers made its way down the main street of New Amsterdam, Berbice.

Shrek – The Musical Jr was on stage last week, being the 2018 annual dramatic production of the Georgetown International Academy.

Ode to Aphrodite Deathless Aphrodite, throned in flowers, Daughter of Zeus, O terrible enchantress, With this sorrow, with this anguish, break my spirit Lady, not longer!

There are some forms of comedy that are currently popular in the Caribbean, including the large theatre communities in Jamaica and Trinidad.

The opportunity arises after the events of Mashramani have concluded to assess their success and impact.

Popular theatre to mark special occasions continued at the National Cultural Centre on February 14, last with a dramatic production for Valentine’s Day.

Theatre as investigative therapy, or as healing ritual, was demonstrated last week when the production Omega – the Beginning, directed by Nicose Layne and Rae Wiltshire was staged at the Theatre Guild Playhouse, Kingston.

Studies in Realism                 (ii) The Tragic Muse O God This is my meditation now, before I pray.

The Call of the River Nun    I hear your call!

It is bacchanal season.  It is the official season of carnival in Trinidad (and in Rio, Brazil), and the unofficial season of Mashramani in Guyana.

For Me – The Back-Yard Play your Carnival, play your masque, Dance with your Country Club set, Hop, jump at your midnight fete; For these things I’ll never ask – Take them all and leave for me The back-yard scene at dusk: The haze of blue wood-smoke, Morning mist amid mango leaves And the nancy-story fantasies That the cries of kiskadees From long, long ago evoke.

Last week we commented on the huge popularity of stand-up comedy on the Guyanese stage, and the way it sells tickets over and above all else in the local theatre.

Today, around the streets of Georgetown, small, straggly groups of youths dressed in motley costumes can be seen prancing about, almost to the rhythms of two or three lazy-looking drummers who stand at the side of the road.

At lunchtime on December 18, 1989, AJ Seymour (AJS) phoned to ask me if I would be very kind and pass for him that afternoon to take him to the Guyana Prize Awards Ceremony at the Cultural Centre.

Much tribute is being paid to Martin Wylde Carter (1927 – 1997) around this time, and with very good reason.