Moon-Child, Caribbean classic reinvented

A gathering at Essex University's Lakeside Theatre witnessed history unfold just over a week ago.

That gathering was the first to see Derek Walcott's Moon-Child.

Walcott, the elder statesman of Caribbean theatre and an artist who has straddled the pre- and post-independence period, is the visiting professor of poetry at the university. Many of the pillars of Caribbean theatre are no longer around; Trevor Rhone, Dennis Scott, Miss Lou, Errol Hill to name a few, making Walcott's efforts all the more important.

The play's premier coincided with another epoch-marking piece of theatre in England, the royal wedding.

Moon-Child is a musical restaging of Ti-Jean and his Brothers, first produced in 1958 by the Little Carib Theatre when Walcott was based in Trinidad, dedicated to creating a Caribbean theatre company.

The play is deeply rooted in St Lucian folklore and tells the story of a destitute mother who has nothing other than her three sons and a small farm, which in this reworking, she refuses to sell to a hotel developer. The devil speaking through the spirit of an unborn child offers to give a rich reward if any of her sons can make him feel anger and human weakness.

The play is essentially a dramatic reading with only the mother and devil onstage, playing excerpts from the original play.

The characters of Ti-Jean and His Brothers are relived through the contour/narrator, who was scheduled to be read by Walcott himself, but unfortunately, had to be read by a stand-in actor.

Not clearly conveyed

Much of the humour of the original play is contained in the physical and verbal jousting which takes place between the devil/planter and the three brothers. Recapturing this through a single narrator is not entirely successful, as the individuality of the brothers and cause of their demise, and Ti-Jean's improvised success in outwitting the devil is not as clearly conveyed in the narrative as in the original play.

The devil/planter character is rooted in Caribbean history and is synonymous with the shape-shifting old man of the forest of St Lucian folklore. Wendell Manwarren shows great versatility in portraying the duality of this character in voice, movement and song. Lesley-Ann Halls' portrayal of the mother is filled with pathos and great believability, leaving the audience hoping for her victory over the devil.

The songs Walcott has commissioned for this production have overtones of reggae and soca and enhance the musicality of the original play, and reinforce the narrative and Caribbean feel of the production.

It is open to debate whether this musical restaging of one of Walcott's best plays has added anything to the canon of Caribbean theatre. The production used many of Walcott's paintings as projected backdrops, underscoring his versatility as an artist. This most quintessential and accessible of Caribbean plays deserves to be seen across the Caribbean as a reminder of one of the many great talents the region has produced, Walcott's contribution to the creation of Caribbean theatre is immense.

Hopefully, Moon-Child will not be Walcott's swansong and there is still many a play at the tip of his pen.