‘56 East Avenue’ is lively, loose and laughter-filled

Fifty-six East Avenue had a large and enthusiastic audience at Saturday night’s staging at the Phoenix Theatre on Haining Road as laughter filled the room for the duration of the show. The day before, Oliver Samuels, who co-wrote and co-directed the comedy with Dennis Titus, told me that the production was going “very well”.

On Saturday, I not only saw for myself how well it has been doing at home, but also got some information about offshore showings. It opened in Florida last September, played in Atlanta, and will, after it closes in Jamaica, return to the United States, Canada, and then England.

The play is an example of Caribbean ‘yard theatre’, a form of realistic drama that popped up in the region after World War II. The productions are set in working-class tenement yards, though when Trinidadian playwright Marina Omowale Maxwell worked in Jamaica in the 1960s, she went a step further and actually staged some plays in backyards.

Her compatriot, Errol John authored the award-winning Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, the best-known and arguably the finest example of yard theatre. John’s examination of the desperate lives of his impoverished characters is intended to make us feel and weep, while Samuels and Titus’ portrayal of similar characters is intended to make us think and laugh. (The saying is that life is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those who feel.)

The three writers get full marks for succeeding in their different intentions – which is not to say that East Street is as fine a play as Moon. Audrey Reid, the well-known star of stage and screen, does an outstanding job as the mendacious, back-biting, red-eyed, hypocritical Ena. Her facial expressions and body language are spot on as she skulks around.

The other actors are also good. Ena lives in common-law discomfort with Jermy, played by Volier Johnson. Neither pays rent to landlord, Mass Benjy (Samuels), who refuses to collect rent from the newest tenant – the pretty young Merdel (Lakeisha Ellison), whom he has his eyes on, as does Jah D, a Rastaman (Titus).

Personalities

Loosely written, the play is a series of disjointed skits held together by a common setting and gaggle of personalities. Instead of a developing story with a beginning, middle and end, we have characters with one major problem and a series of smaller ones.

Benjy’s main problem is collecting rent. Of his half a dozen tenants, some of whom are not seen, only Merdel pays rent. Ena’s problem is that Jermy has lost interest in her and seems on his way out their door. Merdel’s problem is that for some unstated reason, Ena keeps harassing her. Jermy’s problem is selling stolen goods he keeps bringing into the yard in a rice bag. Jah D’s problem, which takes place offstage, and is only spoken about, is with ungrateful youths in the community who eat at his restaurant and then turn on him.

The delight of the production comes from the comic pencil the playwrights use to draw their realistic, easily identifiable characters. All seem strong on the surface, but as the story progresses, they are shown to be weak at their core. The yard is full of failures – no heroes there.

The simple set – flats with doors, a gate to the street, and an outside bathroom the only three dimensional structure – is one that can be easily erected as the production goes on tour. Jamaicans in the diaspora tend to be nostalgic about their island home and will no doubt enjoy it as much as the local audience.