Popular theatre returned to the stage of the National Cultural Centre recently with Darren McAlmont’s Woman-In-Law. It was the assertive return of a Caribbean tradition in both stage and audience – with particular emphasis on audience traditions – at a time when a new trend in dark social realism had begun to surface. The audiences welcomed this realignment of farce and comedy, of dramatic thrills and resounding laughs.
Woman-In-Law was directed by Jennifer Thomas, but McAlmont, a writer and producer, has been very enterprising and can claim achievements in theatre entrepreneurship. Over the past few years he has campaigned in Antigua to the point where he was able to import actresses and actors from Guyana to perform in his plays in Antigua. He must have taken advantage of the opportunities for popular theatre in that island. At one time, Antiguan impresario Nambalulu Nambalala produced thrillers in St John’s, and The Theatre Company, led by Ron Robinson and Gem Madhoo at the time, also made hay with plays taken on tour there.
Woman-In-Law is not to be confused with The Woman-In-law by Ken Danns that