Maya Angelou’s well-known poem “Phenomenal Woman” formed the basis for an evening of song, poetry and drama as well as a panel discussion held last week Friday at the Theatre Guild playhouse in observance of International Women’s Day, which was the previous day.
The event, billed as ‘Phenomenal Woman 2 – A Forum Theatre Performance’ was first held last year for the same observance.
Directed by Dr Paloma Mohamed and produced by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security in collaboration with the Theatre Guild, the show saw performances by veteran theatre personality Sonia Yarde, well-known singer Lisa Punch as well as several other budding actors and performers.
The audience was treated to songs such as Alicia Keys’ “A Woman’s Worth” sung by Marcelle John; Shaggy’s “Strength of a Woman” by Jamal La Rose, Keon Haywood Sean Thompson and Clinton Suncan; Tarrus Riley’s “She’s Royal” done by Haywood; Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman”, which was made popular by the late Whitney Houston done by Yarde and an ensemble; Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely” by Jovinski Thorne among others.
Local pieces included “Loving Me” written and produced by Lloyda Garrett and ensemble; Garrett’s “Lady Hope” performed by Punch, Yarde and Sheron Taylor; “Wipe Those Tears from your Eyes”, written and performed by Punch; and “She is Like…” written and performed by Randolph Critchlow among others.
The presentation style had all the performers on stage throughout the performance and each item told a part of a story about women. This event, in the words of Mohamed sought to intertwine entertainment with education. The focus of the presentation was on three women the Mother, the Sister and the wife. Messages of hope, love and strength were portrayed through the performances.
After the final performance the stage was transformed into a forum setting for the panel discussion featuring Dr Vindhya Persaud, parliamentarian; Attorney Vidushi Persaud; Sharon Austion representative of the Ministry of Human Services; Keith Massiah of Help and Shelter and Donna Short-Gill as the moderator.
This panel discussion focused on the theme for this year’s women’s day ‘Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty’. It raised societal issues affecting women and awareness of women to society’s position on their well-being. Panelists said that women have the world before them and they have the strength and the ability to excel. The need for men to not only desist from ill treating women in every way but to instill positive attitudes towards women in young boys was also stressed.
Earlier, Haimwattie Lagan, Administrator Women’s Affairs Bureau, who chaired the proceedings, said that even though the Human Services Ministry has a new minister and the activity was the “baby” of former minister Priya Manickchand, she felt a need to give women a day to feel as important as they always should.
Local designer Neilson Nurse was responsible for the design of the set and costumes and he created a forest onstage. All actors were costumed in white with detailed design on the men’s t-shirts and butterfly cut outs and shapes for the women along with an attached colourful fabric to represent the magical beauty of the fairies in the forest, which he said was his aim. There were wings attached to some of the performers, which represented the bigger fairies.
Among the dignitaries present were members of the diplomatic corps, Justice Roxane George, wife of the Prime Minister Yvonne Hinds, Human Services Minister Jennifer Webster, Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai and Manickchand, who is now Minister of Education. (John Richards)
