'Big Tree, Small Axe': big on laughter, sobering on issues

Marcia Rowe, Gleaner Writer

As high points, the production of the tragicomedy, Big Tree, Small Axe, took the audience on a roller-coaster wave of emotions highlighting some troubling themes; as low points, there were glitches in the delivery of lines and a faulty script with inconsistent directing. This was evident last Friday, opening night, at the Pantry Playhouse.

Dennis Titus' return to the Jamaican theatre stage is welcome, and from his work, it is clear that his radar has not shifted from the Jamaican soil. With his small axe (his pen), he addresses issues that, while not unfamiliar to many, is "a true story that had to be told" - according to the play's tagline. However, there were some disconnecting dots in the story. This was more evident whenever the characters provided background information on themselves.

However, where he failed in structure, Titus was successful in creating humour, mainly through entertainingly funny and accurately placed lines and colourful characters. It was clear that the playwright's intention was to use the axe of humour to bring down a big tree. Whenever the situation becomes intense, a comedic line is spoken and sends the audience back to laughter zone.

Set in a grand house somewhere in Portmore, Jamaica, the play highlights the stories of five characters addressing different forms of relationships, deception, paedophilia, physical abuse, motherly love, along with a strong underlying theme of jealousy. But mainly, it is the tale of a mother and daughter - Mable and Gabby Roberts.

intense brainwashing

When the two lost their son and brother, and husband and father, respectively, their lives changed. Destitute and exhausted, Mable, played by Gracia Thompson, accepted a live-in-helper's job, the employer, Lanny, a successful music producer. But the much older Lanny, played by Volier Johnson, began a relationship with the much younger Gabby, played by Lakiesha Ellison.

Gabby and Lanny's relationship is saturated with intense brainwashing by the older one, deception, and physical abuse. However, before you begin to feel sympathy towards the deranged Gabby, in a melodramatic twist, she reveals her plan B. She is also afflicted by a strong case of jealousy and has a secret so hideous that she is tormented by nightly dreams.

If there are victims in the big tree of the Roberts' unpleasant tales, they are Kayla Philips, an old friend of both Mable and Gabby (played by Deon Silvera), and her boyfriend Oral, whose aspiration is to make it big on the music scene. The role is played by Titus.

The star-powered cast seemed to have captured the essence of their characters. Johnson allowed the superstitious, overpompous Lanny to be viewed with contempt. Silvera, on the other hand, tried successfully to show a contrast between Kayla the office manager and Kayla the rising producer, and Titus made Oral the simple but kind-hearted singer look real.

Thompson and Ellison chopped down their challenging roles to levels of believability. Ellison's portrayal of the deranged and hapless-looking Gabby was nicely presented, while Thompson's switch from the subservient Mable to a rising, independent woman was nicely captured.

The technical aspects, including set and costumes, gets an 'A' grade. But, like the stubborn doorknob that challenged Kayla on her way out, Titus' best directing moment was only revealed in the last set of scenes.

On a whole, Big Tree, Small Axe is an effort worth seeing.