Dear Editor,
I read with growing concern about the impasse between Mr Ron Robinson, Producer/Director of Link Show and the manager of the National Cultural Centre.
I was reliably informed that censoring of scripts was around for a while. However, it went dormant and stayed that way for a lengthy period.
The former minister of culture, Hon. Gail Teixeira, reinstated script reading for two reasons:
1] for the poor quality of scripts that were being produced and
2] to rid obscene language from scripts.
I was under the impression that this practice is no longer in force. If this is not so, by whom and when was it reintroduced?
However, the questions to be asked are, who are the persons proofreading scripts? How qualified are these persons to determine a”good script from a bad script?” Also, what exactly are they looking for? Have these criteria been communicated to writers/producers?
Mr Editor, censoring scripts in Guyana will always be suspicious. The committee will be hard pressed to convince people that the process is not political.
We {Tyrrells Production} experienced first hand what Mr Robinson is experiencing and since 2005 have vowed never to stage another play in Guyana under the current management.
There is no evidence, in the recent past of political censorship of scripts anywhere in the world.”Bad scripts and producers” will, with time, fade out. Theatre goers will not purchase tickets of persons who continue to produce amateur scripts.
Link Show is theatre and theatre in Guyana is Link Show. I join the others and say let Link Show continue.
Yours faithfully,
Fitzroy Tyrrell
