Several Guyanese plays of historic significance were recently staged at the Theatre Guild and National Cultural Centre as part of a Jubilee festival. While there was nothing, whether in theme or form, that meaningfully brought these works together, there was something of interest in the history of some of them that place them interestingly in Guyanese drama.
Foremost among them was the play that brought the curtains down on the long series – Journey to Freedom by Francis Quamina Farrier, directed by Godfrey Naughton at the National Cultural Centre. It is a play with some historical importance, brought back after more than 25 years and converted into a musical by Naughton. The play, which has its strengths and weaknesses as a script, made a statement as a play to celebrate Guyanese Independence. The production had humour, was strong in some areas, especially since it was generally well acted, but encountered glitches in a number of areas in