 |
The struggle continues
In this saga of cultural triumphs and travails from the postwar period to the present, Pearl Connor-Mogotsi speaks of the many distinguished writers and artists who have contributed to Black British literary and performance achievements.
Our Olympian StruggleBy Pearl Connor-MogotsiPart two Black representation in quality drama was clearly absent in the 1970s. On television, situation comedies filled the gap. By 1972/75 'Love thy neighbour' scored many successes with Nina Baden-Semper and Rudolph Walker becoming household names. By 1978 Michael Abbensetts 'Empire Road' set a precedent, providing a vehicle for a black cast, a black director Horace 0ve and himself, Abbensetts, a black writer. On stage, the musicals 'Hair', 'Jesus Christ Superstar', the 'Black Mikado' and 'Showboat', gave opportunities to many young up and coming black performers, and took them into the professional stream. Theatres like the Tricycle and the Cochrane have showcased many Caribbean and African writers and there has been a breakthrough on the Opera circuit. Whereas before only Glyndebourne ever mounted productions like 'Porgy and Bess', in recent years the Royal Opera House has hosted a black company performing in Opera, featuring Willard White, the distinguished Jamaican baritone. The English National Opera has also accepted several young black singers in their productions, which was virtually impossible twenty years ago. The National Theatre has also inaugurated a policy of including black artists in their productions and bringing them into the mainstream. Another important breakthrough is the number of trained black directors and producers who have been working tirelessly to prove their competence in the Theatre. Anton Phillips of the Carib Theatre, Yvonne Brewster of Talawa, Joan Ann Maynard of the Black Theatre Co-op, Alby James of the National and Temba, and Malcolm Frederick an independent producer. These directors now have a plethora of plays by black playwrights like Michael Abbensetts who wrote the scripts for two very successful soaps, 'The Fosters' 1976 and 'Empire Road' 1978, about black people in Britain. Then came 'Desmonds' 1989/94 which was written by Trix Worrell about a family in a barber shop. The comedy was very entertaining, though many felt that it did not show our real lives. Norman Beaton, Carmen Munroe and Ram John Holder headed a very talented cast.
Dramatists I remember going to visit Earl Lovelace in the village of Matura where he was living a Gauguin lifestyle in a wooden cottage on the banks of a river, surrounded by coconut, mango and orange trees. Everywhere were little tropical insects and it was not uncommon to see a multicoloured snake wriggle across the grass. But, the most amazing thing was the huge refrigerator standing in the kitchen where there was no electricity or running water. I was surprised and enquired from Earl what a fridge was doing there if it could not work. He laughed and opened the door, and there were the manuscripts of his great novels 'The Dragon can't Dance' and 'The Wine of Astonishment'. He explained that he was saving his manuscripts from termites and ants which abounded in the bush. Historic figures like Toussaint L'Ouverture have been immortalized in a play by CLR James. Ira Aldridge, that 18th century actor who scored great triumphs on the stage, was remembered in a play by Lonne Elder 'A Splendid Summer' produced and performed by Malcolm Frederick. Nevertheless, most of our existing drama does not immortalize our heroes and until we do this we will continue to leave a huge gap in the appreciation of our own people. The most serious setback facing black theatre practitioners is the need for permanent premises as part of the British theatre establishment. Some progress has been made by Yvonne Brewster and Talawa in securing the Cochrane. Here is an accessible building available to all with a reputation for representing black theatre practitioners.
"We need our own icons" Re-discovering Women Mary Seacole who as a mature woman went to the Crimean War in 1854. She had tried to enrol in the UK with Florence Nightingale but was rejected. So, she took herself to the front, opened a clinic, where she prescribed natural cures (better known as bush medicine), which she had learnt from her mother in Jamaica and practised in Panama. She successfully nursed soldiers with cholera and yellow fever. Those of us who know the value of these traditional cures in our little islands where medicine was inaccessible to the ordinary people, know about Aloe vera, Boiscanno for cough, fever grass and lemon tea and other cures about which commercial traders like the Body Shop has become aware in recent years. When Mrs Seacole returned to the UK after the war, her work went unrecognized, until she wrote a book named 'The wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands'. This was published in 1857 and reprinted in 1984 since when her own people have decided to honour her memory. Claudia Jones was the editor of The West Indian Gazette and was instrumental in promoting the Notting Hill Carnival. She was a great organizer and managed to unite the Afro/Asian/Caribbean community by inspiring us all to greater efforts in our community activity and support for world causes which related to us. She had a magical way of persuading people to get along with one another and to see the bigger landscape. The struggles these women had are now being re-enacted in our contemporary world. Just to mention a few, there is Pansy Jeffries whose tremendous work in Ladbroke Grove involved caring for the old and destitute black people and the Pepper Pot Club which she founded to create a meeting place for them. She created a forum to promote awareness about the plight of black people in Britain. And on an even more personal note, Beryl McBurnie whose great work in the dance and founding the Little Carib Theatre in Trinidad was an inspiration to generations of young Trinidadians. She was instrumental in arranging scholarships for some of her dancers and educated all who came within her ambit in national pride, which permeated everything she did. We must always bear in mind the enormous cost personal involvement in any struggle inevitably has on relationships and families. In this respect 1 would like to quote Nelson Mandela in his recently published autobiography 'Long Walk to Freedom', concerning his wife Nomzano Winnie Mandela: 'Comrade Nomzano and myself contracted our marriage at a crucial time in the struggle for liberation in our country. Owing to the pressures of our shared commitment to the ANC and the struggle to end apartheid, we were unable to enjoy a normal family life. Despite these pressures our love for each other and our devotion to our marriage grew and intensified. During the two decades I spent on Robben Island, she was an indispensable pillar of support to myself personally. Comrade Nomzamo accepted the onerous burden of raising our children on her own. She endured the persecutions heaped upon her by the government with exemplary fortitude and never wavered from her commitment to the freedom struggle. Her tenacity reinforced my personal respect, love and growing affection' and he continues 'But just as I am convinced that my wife's life while I was in prison was more difficult than mine, my own return was also more difficult for her than it was for me. She married a man who soon left her, that man became a myth and then that myth returned home and proved to be just a man after all.' We, the women of the world, must give our support to those fighting against great odds. oppression, character assassination, marginalization and disloyalty, and like the words of the old spiritual says, be watchful even of those nearest and dearest. 'I saw my brother the other day
See Part I- in The Chronicle
Source: Opening Address at the Back to the Archive |