Live theatre on its way back – Lenford Salmon

With three plays opening last month, Lenny Salmon, a senior director of Jambiz International, believes that live theatre is definitely on its way back. It is no secret that the sector was hard hit by the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown mandates, which has seen the demise of the Centrestage Theatre, a landmark venue for that community.

However, with ‘normal’ emerging, theatre folk have been in rehearsals and the fruits of their labour are visible.

“I think that I can safely say that live theatre is on its way back. As you know, December is the unofficial start of our Christmas theatre season, the other happening in July/August to mark the start of our summer theatre season. We had three of our of main producers opening productions – us [Jambiz] at the Courtleigh Auditorium; Delcita opening up at Courtleigh and then playing across rural Jamaica now; and Basil Dawkins at the Little Little Theatre, and we have all enjoyed very good audience support thus far. We are hopeful that it will continue to improve as the year progresses,” Salmon told The Gleaner.

Jambiz’s production Anancy & Pinnochio is described as Patrick Brown’s Jamaican fairy tale; it opened at the Courtleigh Auditorium, New Kingston, on December 30.

“Opening night was very successful. We had a full house, including Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, our minister of culture, gender, entertainment and sport, our portfolio minister. Based on the sustained laughter by audience throughout the production, I think we can say with confidence that they loved it and enjoyed every moment,” shared Salmon, whose team and Brown joined forces more than two decades ago to do what they do best – delivering top-class entertainment, laced with fun and laughter for the entire family.

Their ‘home’ was the Centerstage Theatre in New Kingston, and following its closure, they had to find a new performance space for their plays. Their first post-pandemic production – MO, JO & FLO opened at the Courtleigh Auditorium in July.

In a press release, Brown stated, “It was a bittersweet experience for us. The pain of losing our homebase was devastating. But we found solace when our Centerstage fanbase turned out in their numbers at the Courtleigh Auditorium, demonstrating that their loyalty transcended location. They fell in love with the Courtleigh and they made that known to us. This is what prompted us to stage Anancy & Pinnochio at this venue, and who knows, perhaps all our productions in the near future.”

A synopsis of the play notes that: “Jahpetto, an elderly carpenter who turns to making and selling puppets to make ends meet, after a severe downturn in the construction industry. But Jahpetto also has one other yearning – to father a son. Then out of nowhere, Aziza, a fairy godmother appears to grant his wish. To the amazement of everyone, Aziza brings one of his puppets to life, giving rise to Pinocchio, and joy to the old man. But this joy is shortlived. Regrettably, Pinocchio falls under the influence of Anancy, Jahpetto’s lazy shop attendant, a man who is able to get by in life by doing the only things he knows – bandoolu shenanigans. Anancy soon discovers that Pinocchio possess extraordinary talent, especially as a performing artiste, and of course he sets about exploiting the situation. The public just loves Pinny and overseas tours, luxury trappings and nuff dollaz start to roll in. But without a proper education to fall back on things go south very soon.”

The cast comprises Jambiz veterans Glen ‘Titus’ Campbell who plays Anancy; Courtney Wilson as Jahpetto, and Sharee Elise as Aunt Lulu, the elderly love interest of Jahpetto. Joining them are the talented cadre of fresh faces which include Quera South as Aziza, along with Desmond Dennis and Kadeem Wilson alternating as Pinnochio.

“We are scheduled to close at the end of January, with the possibility of an extension once we are doing well,” Salmon shared.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com