a play created by him and Kendel “Straw” Hippolyte.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he provocative and entertaining theatre production, The Big Wood Man, takes to the stage on Saturday, September 29 at 8:00p.m. at Chateau Heritage in Dennery. The one-man stage show uses a mix of traditional storytelling, stand-up comedy technique, video clips and standard theatre to entertain and pose questions about men: What really makes a man a man? Where does male violence begin and what to do about it? What is a man really holding when he’s holding a cricket bat or a billiards cue?
This highly original show came out of improvisation and experiment between two of Saint Lucia’s veteran theatre practitioners, Kennedy “Boots” Samuel and Kendel “Straw” Hippolyte. The Big Wood Man is the brainchild of Boots, who initiated the discussions about the ideas and made suggestions about the mix of performing elements that would shape it. His long-time friend and theatre colleague, Straw, collaborated in the creation of the narratives and characters and took on the role of director. The result is an innovative stage production, full of outrageous humour (including a wickedly funny demonstration of how a man should make love), thought-provoking ideas about masculinity and some emotional portrayals of father-son relationship—and the lack thereof.
The style of the show brings the audience right into it, with action happening sometimes within the audience and direct interaction between Boots and audience members. The piece incorporates Ole Mas elements of costume and music and it pays tribute, in video clips, to some of the veteran Ole Mas players, those alive and those gone, who have kept that cultural form going over the years. Boots refers to the piece as Ole Mas Theatre and sees it as an innovation with a lot of potential for developing a unique style. The show can be graphic at times in its depiction of sex and of male violence and thus it carries a parental advisory notice.
The Big Wood Man had a successful opening last July with two very well attended performances in Castries at the height of the carnival season and the intention had always been to take it to communities around the island. This performance in Dennery on Saturday 29 starts off a series of performances in other communities and audiences
can look forward to a theatrical treat.
