As we approach the New Year the Sunday Stabroek caught up with some of the entertainers who from time to time give Guyanese a ‘bellyful of laughs’ and asked them about their New Year wishes.
Below are their comments:
Henry Rodney‒veteran actor and comedian: “My New Year resolution? I want Guyana to be a real country, a country where people live together, black, white, Chinese, Portuguese, Indian, Amerindian…all nine races living together so that we can really emphasise and live our motto ‘One People, One Nation, One Destiny.’ And I hope that next year stability and sanity return to parliament because it is a madhouse right now. Let the parliamentarian stop threatening our livelihood because they are more jokers than comedians and want to take over our job. Bless 2014 Guyana.”
Odessa Primus –actress/comedian: “I am looking forward to a lot of things next year. I am looking forward for the food and I am excited because I am seeing a lot fast food outlets popping up and I am interested to see what they have to offer. I am also going on a weight loss project; I feel as if I have gained an extra pound or so and it is making me look fat. I am going to look for a gym and hopefully the gym is next to a fast foot outlet ‒ that is my idea of a convenient location. Happy New Year to all the supporters, especially those who are overweight like myself. Shout out to all my friends who have ensured… the hand-me-down wigs in the family, keeping it real. Shout out to all the promoters who have included me in their promotion ‒ that is the smartest thing most of them have done for the year. And of course shout out to my family and all Barticians.”
Rajan Tiwari actor/comedian: “My New Year resolution is firstly I want all Guyanese to realize that we have to live in unity to have more smiling faces. You look at people now and you see a lot of tenseness; you need to have more love for each other. I also want to wish every single Guyanese a happy and prosperous 2014 and I do hope that the present state of my bank account will change for the New Year and it would be better with more digits.”
Mark Kazim aka ‘Chiney man’ actor/comedian: “For 2014 I wish the police would stop pulling me over and talking to me as if me ’n them grew up as youths that used to run around the neighbourhood troubling people, went to school and hustle the same girls, have the same friends circle and hang together often, then to end the ‘conversation’ telling me… ‘So I gon tek duh ting u promise meh now.’ My resolution for 2014, if I make one, would be to get enough money to buy a flying car so I can beat the traffic in Georgetown.”
Lyndon ‘Jumbie’ Jones: actor/comedian: “My resolution for 2014 is to become more somebody that can create a light moment, relaxation, and laughter for as many persons as possible. [I wish] if I can put a smile on someone’s face and make them laugh at my expense. I realize in Guyana for many reasons people can be stressed and a full dose of what can distress needs to be dispensed rapidly. People need to have more laughter and it ties in to my profession and I want to give more of myself to Guyanese people to repair and mend the anger that we see today that results in various crimes ‒ it is because we are an angry people. It seems that Guyanese are very angry and get enraged in a split second and for me you have to give them a total antidote for that anger. I am prepared to be Guyana’s laughing stock so that when people see me or hear from me they would get a bellyful of laughter and positive energy. I intend to do that with the various productions like ‘Uncensored’ and ‘Nothing to laugh about,’ taking them to more places in Guyana and making it more affordable to all Guyanese. I also wish that there will be a Guyanese sitcom on television in 2014.”
Kirk ‘Chow Pow’ Jardine actor/comedian: “For the New Year I would hope to get an opportunity to make an input in how the country fight the drug situation. I would like to offer the Commissioner of Police a solution because for too long drugs have been destroying people. When a person is caught with 40 or 30 pound of cocaine, instead of giving them a jail term and taxpayers have to pay to support them, build a big stage at Stabroek Market and force them to smoke all the cocaine and send themselves mad. I would wish the same for child abusers.”
Chris Gopaul actor/comedian: “I plan to take Guyana one day at a time and give it back to Guyanese. I wish all Guyanese peace love and laughter, plenty of it.”
