Courtney Wilson plays 'Don Man', the heartless villain of 'Death Row' now playing at the Barn Theatre. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer ONE THING which is never far from the minds of Jamaicans today is violence. Our country is in its grip and different people try to tackle the one-eyed monster in different ways.
A commentary in the programme for the play Death Row suggests that it is guided by that aim, as suggested in its opening words which read: 'This play does not seek to answer a question but only to provoke the conscience of the society in general - perpetrators, victims and bystanders alike'.
As such, the play does tackle a very serious topic, unfortunately the topic seems to have wrestled it to the ground. The play, now at The Barn Theatre in Kingston, was hampered by both directoral decisions and the shortcomings of the script.
Death Row takes a look at three brothers tied to a circle of violence. The eldest, 'Don Man' (Courtney Wilson) is the apparent villain of the script and is the one on death row. Brutal, with a strange concept of family loyalty, he rules his kingdom with a heavy hand and he is intent on beating his youngest brother, 'Youth Man' (Orville Hall), into following in his footsteps. Youth Man seems to be of the opinion that it is a dog-eat-dog world in which money can cure all ills (of course he grows up to be a politician) and is torn between his two older brothers.
The final brother is 'Reds' (Alton Locke). Although Reds supposedly has the moral high ground over Don Man, he is also quite willing to manipulate Youth Man to his own ends, regardless of the danger in which it leaves his younger brother.
Most of the action takes place in flashbacks, while the beginning and end seemed to have been tacked without thought for what the middle would show. At the start of the play, Reds confronts Youthman about his obligations to Don Man, urging the younger man to forgive and grant Don Man a pardon. His words even suggest that Youth Man is partly responsible for Don Man's predicament. Simultaneously, Don Man argues to the audience that his nefarious deeds have all been for the good of his community. However, when the play re-emerges from the flashback, Reds seems to have forgotten his words about filial obligation and responsibility.
Additionally, though Don Man's actions show that he clearly deserves to be on death row, for some reason his henchman, Gun Hawk (Phillip Watkis), avoided prison and seemed to have earned the sympathy of those he had helped to oppress.
Overall, Death Row tells an important tale, but the way it tells it needs to be re-evaluated. As such, despite Youth Man being the main character, he is not very clearly drawn.
The other characters, 'Blossom' (Kimberly Smith), 'Girly' (Vanessa Baugh) and the few appearances by 'Cutie' help to bring some additional texture to the tale, but not too much. This is in part because the writer (Andrea Dailey-Allen) attempts to bring too many issues into the tale rather than focusing on a few. As a result, it leaves too many things carelessly brushed aside.
Even so, the performances were often above fair. Two of the minor characters, Blossom and Cutie, stood out in particular. Cutie was impressive simply because she is that kind of loose woman who is so brazen she cannot help but be funny. On the other hand, the fact that amid all the yelling, Smith showed that emotion did not mean yelling, spoke volumes.
In fact, the almost constant noise of the production was somewhat trying. Every passionate scene meant yelling, resulting in a lack of nuance. These flaws of course can be laid at the feet of director Kenny Salmon. Additionally, two many of the actions of the major characters were more suited to slapstick comedy. This stifled some of the seriousness of the theme, sticking out awkwardly in contrast to the play's mood.
Interestingly, the talent of the mostly young cast was the saving grace of the production, helping to gloss over some of the most glaring weaknesses of the technical aspects of the production.
They also had a great soundtrack featuring songs such as Sitting In Limbo, Border Clash, Rebel and The Harder They Come to help to set the mood.
