The Ministry of Culture is currently staging plays that have won the Guyana Prize for Literature. Makantali, written by Harold Bascom, won the Guyana Prize for Drama in 1996. It details the lives of porknockers in Guyana and the challenges they face in their search for riches. Some cast members spoke about the themes the play addresses and why it is important for Guyanese to come out and support Makantali which will be staged on May 28 at the National Cultural Centre at 6 pm.
Mark Kazim – Makantali is special to me. It is the first play I ever did as an actor. I am doing that exact role that I did. I like the diversity of the play. I love that it is a big cast and you get to see most of the best actors in Guyana on stage; to share the stage with such people is an amazing opportunity. If you have never seen a play before, this is a good start to see plays. It is an award-winning play. It is a powerful script and more powerful acting. We are accustomed to seeing all these faces doing comedy in Guyana but there are much more serious actors in this play and the comedic actors as well are doing serious drama.
Mark-Luke Edwards – I am Captain Bob. He is an old porknocker who is affiliated with Makantali. My role is primarily a storyteller’s but there are times when there are flashback scenes with Makantali himself. It is a Guyana prize-winning play and the play is an account of actual events. It is a part of Guyanese history being relived and something that we should be proud of. We have a lot of entertainment but we don’t have a lot of things with culture and historic value. And it speaks a lot about the black man squandering his money, which is kind of evident now. I don’t know if that is politically correct or whatever but a lot of the black porknockers got their monies and they never liked to put up or invest it. They wasted their money on women and so on. It is a lesson for the black man. It is a lesson for everyone and there is something for every Guyanese to take away.
Sean Thompson – I am in love with the stage and the arts so anything that has to do with the performing arts I would like to be a part of. So when Godfrey [Naughton, the director] told me he was considering me to do the lead role I had to say yes. It is a good comeback to theatre for me. [Makantali] is a true story. It has a lot of drama and some humour in it. But mainly because a lot of people don’t know certain histories about Guyana, it would be good to experience storytelling and learn about what our ancestors went through. I learnt from this play that love has no boundaries and it doesn’t matter who you are and what you possess, love will triumph over everything.
Paul Budnah – I play a character by the name of Noble. With the kind of drama that happens in the bush, Noble tries to bring peace between the porknockers. It is a Guyana Prize for Literature winning play. I am always interested in these plays and the ones that I know, I found them to be of reality. It still happens today. With Makantali, the events still happen: men having affairs, men trying to dig and find for gold. There is calamity, negativity and a lot of challenges that porknockers still have to face today. I feel like the rest of Guyana should see this play because this play allows Guyanese who don’t understand what happens in the interior to experience porknockers’ lives.
Chris Gopaul – For me, Makantali is part of our history. Makantali came from a poor family. They used to do horse cart business and he couldn’t read and write. He was taught how to read and write by this girl in the bush and this is how he fell for her. He ended up at Parika where he was literally just throwing money in the air. The cast is star-studded. We have almost everybody who is popular in this play and everybody knows what they are doing. There is entertainment and there is drama and there is also a part with jumbie and you will get to find out things you didn’t know, especially young people.
Makini Thompson – It is a play that is relatable to present day life. Men leaving their families for a woman they think is better. The play teaches that money is not what all life is about and we need to assess our morals and values. The play teaches that all that glitters is not gold. It also teaches us that we can be manipulated into doing immoral things if we are not strong in our values. The playwright did an exceptional job and it is a captivating story that leaves you intrigued.
Nuriyyih Gerrard – You are going to see characters in the play you can relate to or someone you recognise in your life. However, they might be presented in a way where they might deal with conflict differently, which you might not have considered. I love theatre and this is why I chose to be a part of it. The arts is a powerful tool that can be used to educate and not just entertain. I love being able to be a part of this play for this reason. It has been a while since I have been part of a full-length production and it has been an honour to be part of this production.
Godfrey Naughton – I saw it many times and some of the messages are lost on people and I have researched the play and I lived in that time and my father was a porknocker. I spent some time speaking to Harold Bascom, the writer of the play. Lots of things in the play speak about people who are trying to be financially independent. We can easily be distracted by the spectacle of material and lose our moral and spiritual values. The play warns that this can be a pitfall if we don’t practise better judgement in our lives. The play also addresses that we don’t only exist in a physical realm but the play addresses spirituality about things that we cannot necessarily explain. The play is wholesome entertainment and it is skillfully written and we are trying to tell a story from a great writer and it gives us a chance to see what is in his mind and how we should act and react in life. Many people in the cast have discovered things about themselves while doing this play and we hope the audience can come and experience this also.