Bitter Cassava marries powerful storytelling with dance and song

SHAUN BIGGART-HUTCHINSON

Visitors to the Magdalena Grand’s Colibri Ballroom met an air of anticipation on the opening night (April 15) of the Tobago Performing Arts Company (TPAC) production of Dr Lester Efebo Wilkinson’s 1970s-set drama Bitter Cassava.

Ascending a small flight of stairs to a red-carpet-adorned atrium, lined with a sentry-like phalanx of mystical douend, theatregoers entered a foyer decorated with a comprehensively curated exhibition. Featuring framed photographs of the playwright, the TPAC production team and ensemble, alongside information on the show (which could have been collated in a programme) lent an immersive feel, patrons enjoying welcoming, interactive terrain.

Settled into the opulent, spacious, imposingly high-ceilinged Colibri Hall, the near capacity audience – joined by local dignitaries, and the United Kingdom High Commissioner, Harriet Cross – were welcomed by Elvis Radgman, TPAC’s chief executive. Tobago House of Assembly Tourism Secretary Tashia Burris, in congratulating the recently formed arts and culture group, brought greetings from Chief Secretary Farley Augustine, reiterating the assembly’s ambition to establish Tobago as a regional culture powerhouse.

Some may have been unfamiliar with the acclaimed and award-winning production, performed in Trinidad in 2016 and a winner of the Best Village Prize for Playwriting and the National Drama Festival Playwriting Award. Wilkinson’s work is intellectually stimulating, capturing several elements of the Caribbean literary and theatre culture. TPAC’s multi-disciplinary, multi-media effort depicts the vibrant, eclectic tradition – infused with Tobagonian references in this production – in captivating form.

This is a play which marries powerful storytelling with dance and song to share a universal tale of infidelity, betrayal, loyalty and real life – and perhaps supernatural – consequences. Singing, dancing, acting, and enthralling storytelling are offered in this mesmerising production. Sometimes hilarious, often sombre, the protagonists are emblematic of the shifting mood and tone; echoing them authentically.

Several episodic scenes win two acts transport the narrative, in flashback, as Pa Cefus (Akinlabi Holder) recounts the dramatic episode to the local police officer (Levee Rodriguez), each encounter unfolding, unpacking the complex relationships and infidelities of Samuel (Dwayne White Jr), his long-time companion Justina (Kedisha Thomas), and his wife Betty-Lou (Cherysh La Touche).

Calypso, bele dancing, Spiritual Baptist-influenced hymn-singing, and powerful and subtle, nuanced acting deliver a parable with a truly committed, enthusiastic cast.

The set is simplistically and minimally designed, but with sufficient space for the dynamic ensemble to showcase their talents. Flo Spencer’s costumes, beautify the several wardrobe changes of the elegantly attired troupe, interpreting Shakell Jones’ scintillating choreography.

Directing the intimate and sensitive interactions, dramatic confrontations and vivacious and energetic dance routines that accompany the retroactive narrative journey over several scenes, Rayshawn Pierre-Kerr helms the multi-faceted and intricately balanced production skilfully.

The playwright’s enthralling dialogue is a wealth of folk language, echoing Caribbean multilingual speech, evocative and replete with lyrical aphorisms.

The play’s ten songs an exciting supplement to the clearly enunciated script – vital to transporting the story across time periods. These songs’ lyrics evoke the outlook, spirituality and sentiment of the protagonists - and the consequences and repercussions of the imbroglio. Incidental music – atmospheric and sensitively engaging – enhances the intense interactions and energetic dance routines.

Acoustics and sound were clear as a bell, with the unseen but well drilled live band (percussion, pan, bass, violin et al), impressive across a spectrum of musical genres. Similarly, lighting (Cindy-Lou Edwards) was integral to the performance and both sound and visuals could be considered unseen cast members too.

There are many standout performances.

Charismatic White Jr thoroughly convinced in the role of Samuel Blondell. It is clear why the amorous village ram is an attraction to the many women in his “stable.” Eloquent, passionate and virile, his vulnerability exposed when the repercussions and consequences of his infidelity return to haunt him. White’s performance captures the gamut of emotional states – unstable insanity to self-confident arrogance, insouciance and joyful exuberance to malicious spitefulness.

Counselling Samuel, the erudite village elder Pa Cefus in Holder’s portrayal, embodies the narrator’s eloquence with multilingual, vernacular speech, wisdom and empathy.

Thomas’s Justina, her singing expressive, powerful and pained, induces sympathy, a contrast to the scorn displayed by her neighbours whose malicious taunting leads to tragedy.

Mixing his authority with sardonic charm, Rodriguez as Police is persuasive, personifying the law officer’s impatient, world-weary scepticism.

At the heart of the tryst, La Touche’s Betty Lou is Justina’s nemesis, the other woman become trophy wife: a perfect fit convincingly portraying the ambivalent narcissism that comes with a pigmentation status that does not protect her from the ensuing drama.

Radiating power and authority, magnetism and charisma as a griot/priest/spiritual leader, Zari Kerr’s Papa Iban is a wondrous standout. We meet the Afrocentric-garbed elder during an ole-time wedding promenade, the cast perambulating the audience’s central corridor. Frenetic in the dance routines, with a distinctive sonorous voice (both singing and orating), Kerr is dominant, presiding over his congregation and a spellbound Colibri Hall audience.

Set changes, of which there were several, and scene transitions were a little clunky in places, not matching the elegance of the performers on stage, as were incidents when the auditorium was plunged into sepulchral darkness. But these were minor wrinkles that didn’t detract from the smooth flow of the production. Nor did they dissuade the audience from a deserved standing ovation.

The Tobago Performing Arts Company has delivered a rewarding investment in intellectual, spiritual and emotional development. Returns on educational, historical and cultural investment are incalculable for this brilliant monument to our vibrant Caribbean literature.

Wilkerson’s epic, if presented on one of New York’s showpiece Broadway venues or London’s theatreland district, could be a phenomenon.

Bitter Cassava merits a long run in Tobago and a tour of the region to demonstrate that this island is indeed a heavyweight contender for Caribbean culture, a sibling who can bask in her own dazzling light.

Bitter Cassava was staged by the Tobago Performing Arts Company on April 15-17 at the Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort, Tobago.