Jamaican Pantomime PANTOMIME - a kind of play performed at Christmas time characterised by farce, music, lavish sets, stock roles and topical jokes. Sometimes shortened to panto. Sometimes a form of entertainment where words are replaced by gestures and bodily actions (Collins English Dictionary).

Jamaican Pantomime has evolved over the last sixty years. It was introduced into Jamaica by the British Colonial population and was largely performed by the British for The British in the grand surroundings of The Ward Theatre, Kingston. The stories were much the same as typical pantomimes in Britain but 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves' and 'Jack and The Bean Stalk' provided few parts for Jamaicans: A Jamaican teacher was invited to play the role of witch in 'Jack and the Bean Stalk'!

In 1943 The Little Theatre Movement produced the first truly Jamaican Pantomime, 'Soliday and the Wicked Bird' by Vera Bell: the "Jamaicanisation" of pantomime had begun. The annual Jamaican pantomime provided and still provides the catalyst for a host of talented playwrights, directors, producers, musicians, and performers. Notable among the personalities of pantomime are; Noel Vaz, Rex Nettleford, Lloyd Reckford and Louise Bennet. Trevor Rhone began his career in pantomime and Rannie Williams, Henry Fowler, Barry Reckord, Dennis Scott and Barbara Gloudon were and are very much at the forefront of its development. The Jamaican pantomime still provides a launchpad for a multitude of new talent and it is a form of theatre that is continually developing.

Yvonne Brewster's Pantomime (From an interview with Yvonne Brewster) Jamaican Pantomime has become a theatre form in its own right. Specifically, it has developed a harder edge than its British counterpart, especially in the area of political comment. The script is constantly updated to encompass what is currently happening in the news. I first directed a pantomime, 'The White Witch' by Barbara Gloudon in the seventies in which the great actress Louise Bennet played. It was at that time that I started to look at the form of Jamaican pantomime and what it would mean to put one in Britain and saw that it needed to be more clearly defined for our audience. I wanted to get away from the over emphasis on lavish sets by using a more minimalist approach to set design and re-introduced certain elements like cross dressing. In 1972 when directed 'Anancy and Brer Englishman' by Manley Young at the Dark and Light Theatre in Brixton we attempted to bring about a fusion of Jamaican and British pantomime traditions. . .and it worked. Older Jamaicans recognised the pantomimes they had seen back home while younger audiences could draw parallels to their own lives. In 1987 my production "Flash Trash", another Anglo-Jamaican Christmas entertainment, at The Half Moon Theatre was voted 'panto of the year'. And now ARAWAK GOLD - Columbus's arrival, from Arawak's point of view!

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Name: Tanio Arawaks
Extinct: The Arawaks were destroyed by Christopher Columbus
Background: Came to the Caribbean islands over 1000 years before Columbus. Peaceful people with few laws to govern themselves because crimes were rare.
Beliefs: The land was believed to be invented by a male sky god and a female earth goddess.
Inventions: Created sacred images, sculptures, games, hammocks, clay cooking pots.
Language:
Cacique - Chief of the Arawaks
Guanin - Gold and silver jewellery worn by Tribesmen.
Zemi - Sacred images of the Arawaks
Hamacus - Hammocks
Arieto - singing and dancing
Jahkoma - An Arawak Gold
Travel: Canoe
Music: Wooden gongs, drums and instruments made of gourds.
Dress: Arawaks painted their skin with dyes, juices and tree bark. They wore black and red. The Cacique (Chief) wore a coat of feathers and strings of beads, gold and silver. His wife wore strips of cotton cloth from the waist.

Name: Christopher Columbus
Born: Genoa. Italy. 1451
Died: Spain. 1506
Background: Son of a weaver. He taught himself mathematics, astronomy and languages (Latin, Portuguese and Spanish). He was a very persuasive talker. He persuaded the King and Queen of Spain to pay for his voyages of 'discovery' to get gold.
Beliefs: He was a Catholic and believed in the Royal Family.
Voyages: Sailed around the Caribbean capturing Indians as slaves and forcing them to work in search of gold. Through torture and passing on of diseases he virtually wiped out the population of Indians living on the islands. Hearing of his cruelty the King ordered him to come home and he was brought back as a criminal in chains.

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