St Lucia heads to CARIFESTA

The first experience I had of watching a production of A Little Folk Tale, one year ago, remains unrivalled. The cast then was appropriately selected from students of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, and the stage management, musicians and actors created an eerie atmosphere given the resources at the National Cultural Centre. The performance evoked tears (I dare not sell out the big-time judge behind me who was sniffling) and suspense at every plot twist of unexpected suicide or the sealing of a deal with the devil. This was one of the best locally produced stage events I’d ever attended. It added icing to the cake when I discovered the writers and directors were also SALCC students.

Monique Alexander and Jessie Mayers, the writers who are now twenty- and nineteen-years-old respectively, will be having their work presented at this year’s CARIFESTA. Every CARICOM member and associate member state will have the opportunity to do an artistic performance reflective of their country’s culture and heritage. A Little Folk Tale was chosen for Saint Lucia’s showcase and it will be reproduced on August 23 in Trinidad, the host country for CARIFESTA XIV. 

Following a series of rigid auditions and three months of intense rehearsal, this year’s cast of A Little Folk Tale chose to first perform before a sold-out audience at the National Cultural Centre on August 9 and 11. They were finally ready to present to the country what they’re bringing to the table for CARIFESTA XIV. The production was promoted islandwide. Seated up front on the Sunday night were Prime Minister Allen Chastanet and his family, and Minister for Culture, Senator Fortuna Belrose. They obviously had as great a time as did the rest of the audience.  

A Little Folk Tale follows the story of four children who find themselves in their dead uncle’s bedroom during his funeral wake while the rest of the family is mourning. What they encounter there brings them through four stories of experiences with supernatural creatures from Saint Lucian folklore: ladjabless, soucouyant, ti bolonm and cockma. Engrossed in the thrill of dramatizing each story with the accompanying costumes they find in the bedroom, the children do not question why their Uncle Ti Bab owned these items and a dusty story book. The four characters make deals with the devil that both excite and scare the children but, in the end, they realize that entering their uncle’s room against their parents’ instructions might have sealed their own supernatural fate.

This year’s Saint Lucian delegation will be bringing local youth’s formidable skills and talent to CARIFESTA. The actors, although different from the original performance I saw, were nevertheless outstanding. My favourite was Leni Alcindor’s characterization of Audrey. She made the ladjabless the most memorable of the four supernatural creatures portrayed. The performance included equally skilled musicians in a live band, and vocalists performing songs written specially for the play. The group left for Trinidad this week and, while there, will take advantage of workshops, classes, other countries’ performances and the chance to further hone their skills.