Jamaican Folk Singers stages short, sweet season

With a repertoire of more than 200 songs and some 44 years' experience in entertaining audiences, the Jamaican Folk Singers could surely have had a month-long season. But though it lasted only from Friday to Sunday, the season was as sweet as it was short.

Presented at the Little Theatre, the programme consisted of four main segments: School Days, Work, Folk Fair, Plantation Life and Kumina. The magic of theatre - meaning the lighting, décor, costumes, etcetera - combined with the choice of the beautifully rendered songs gave the audience the illusion of spending several weeks in a rural Jamaican community.

Actually, the show lasted two hours, starting, on Sunday when this reviewer attended, just after 6 p.m. a clever, and largely successful attempt is made to string the more than 40 folk songs presented on a storyline.

The narrative, which gave the show a welcome coherence, began in pre-dawn hours. The lighting (designed by Michael 'Rufus' McDonald) and the rousing of children from bed illustrated the opening song, Wake up Beeny Bud.

Accompaniment for the song, and for most of the others to come, was provided by an excellent band comprising Maurice Gordon and Damion McCarthy (guitar), Calvin Mitchell and Phillip Supersad (drums), Albert Shaun Hird (flute), and Richard Williams. During set and costume changes throughout the concert, the band provided interludes of applause-evoking instrumental music.

When the scene shifted from home to schoolroom, a stern-looking, 'speaky-spokey' teacher, hilariously played by Lilieth Nelson, was introduced. She and her frequent malapropisms lent much humour to the presentation. Also causing frequent laughter was Big Boy in short khaki pants and a too-tight shift, playing a rather stupid student.

Clearly a versatile primary-school educator, Nelson moved the class from 'arithmetics' to Bible knowledge to history and, finally, before school was dismissed for the day, to concert preparation.

Appropriate songs were sung during the different sessions, including Colon Man, Bedward, Seven Ribba, 11 Times Table, Noah, Likkle Samuel, Rio Grande, May Pen Bull, Manuel Road and Long Time Gal.

Nelson fell out of character early in the show to announce that Dr Olive Lewin, the founder of the Jamaican Folk Singers, was in the audience. The news was greeted by applause. Lewin, who is not in the best of health, handed over leadership of the group to Christine MacDonald-Nevers (soprano), who is not only the musical director, but one of the performers.

Work segment

In the Work segment, some women huddle around a large pot of food on a realistic looking fire, other women and men chop cane (in mime) and the men dig. All this is in preparation for an annual community fair.

Not surprisingly, there was quite a bit of flirting between men and women, and both this peripheral activity, as well as the work, was captured by the music. The songs here included Cookie in a Kitchen, Half a Hoe, Angelina, Peep in a Mi Pot, Guava Root and Alligator.

The next scene was the fair, and it saw everyone dressed up in colourful finery. Big Boy had on a jacket; like his shirt earlier, it was too tight.

Choreographer Paula Shaw's work, featured in every segment, was particularly noticeable on the fair ground as not only was there choreographed movement for the Singers, but there were two actual dances, both quadrilles. Songs in this section included Jane & Louisa, Helena, Glide Along and the humorous R-U-M.

After intermission, the scene shifted to plantation life during slavery and showed a slave being whipped by slave men and then cared for by slave women. A quite uncomfortable scene, its distress was mitigated by the songs, which were sung over the scene of the (mimed) whipping. They included Moses, ostensibly the name of the whipped slave.

Three of the musicians played on two kumina drums throughout the final segment and for much of the time the singers performed the signature shuffling of the feet associated with kumina. The songs included Tunda Roll, Rock Yu Body and Guinea Way.

Extended applause greeted the performers, and Shaw, as they bowed at the end of the splendid show.

The informative programme revealed that next year, the singers "will be involved in a number of music workshops that will focus primarily on the use of folk music as a teaching tool, and will cater to teachers and students".