The Trinidadian contingent put on an outstanding performance in the form of a Masquerade at City Hall on Monday evening.
The audience, the biggest at City Hall since the beginning of Carifesta, was treated to a wonderful depiction of ‘Trini’ masquerade characters.
While it provided excellent entertainment, an insight into the origin and significance behind the ‘story of the masquerade’ was also depicted.
Soca, chutney and calypso singers set the stage for the actual masquerade with brilliant performances. Calypso Champion “Blacksage” put on an excellent ‘extempo’ performance, as he sang to lyrics made up on the spot on topics provided by the audience. Princess Adana then rocked the house with a scintillating performance of “tonight the black man wants to party,” pulling a member of audience to dance with her – much to the delight of the crowd.
The “sweeper” (a masquerade character) symbolically swept the floor; the lights went out, the whip masters whips cracked, drums pounded and the masquerade began with well costumed characters dramatically parading to unveil the root of the masquerade- its beginning in the spiritual world.
The characters then proceeded to portray various acts from a script obviously written to mirror the everyday life of the Caribbean people. It sought to show that ‘masquerade’ is not just about costumed people who run around, dancing to various rhythms. But that the characters of the masquerade have originated from and relate to the everyday life of Caribbean people.
Throughout the act, strong teams were evident. For example when the ‘Baby Doll’ (a promiscuous character) was out walking late at night and was raped by the ‘Midnight Robber’ and the audience sat idly by; all of the positive characters came out and screamed at the audience; showing up the tendency of people to stand by and not lend a willing hand to their neighbours.
The dimmed lights and the sometimes grotesquely costumed characters prancing around in the dark, along with the haunting background music would give the illusion of watching a horror movie unfold; only to be brought back to something comical as the scene transitioned suddenly.
With glaring clarity the dramatic piece unfolded and members of the audience were heard commenting on the artistic presentation, the brilliance of the costumes and the great writing skills that put together such a piece. Bravo to the Trinis for a well thought out night of entertainment. (Melissa Charles)
