THE GRAND LITTLE THEATRE AT FAIRFIELD - JAMAICA TOURIST ISSUE 15
Among the many gems in Jamaica, is a little theatre on the outskirts of Montego Bay. As the only fully equipped theatre outside of Kingston, the hard working team at Fairfield Theatre manages to produce quality entertainment at the charming, intimate venue just outside of Montego Bay to a wide variety of locals and tourists. Popular productions include the Jamaican dancehall musical Block 24, a variety of workshops and the dramatization of Jane Crichton’s classic Jamaican story White Witch, took the 175 seat venue to a whole new level with music, singing, dancing and acting to match the musicals of London’s West End.
A major success, the recent staging of Jane Crichton’s musical play White Witch has received rave reviews from both locals and tourists. Said the Jamaican playwright, “I have been fascinated by the story of Annie Palmer for many years ever since visiting the ruins of Rose Hall at night as a teenager.” Normally portrayed as an evil witch, Crichton’s aim was to put Annie Palmer, in a different light, a frustrated and lonely woman trapped in a man’s world. Directed by Douglas Prout, the play premiered in February 2010 with a cast of excellent Jamaican actors. Appearing in the lead role of the White Witch of Rose Hall, one of the hottest commodities on the Jamaican theatre landscape Maylynne Walton, demonstrated her wide range of acting talent. Among the other gifted actors were Keiran King, who last appeared in Dreamgirls, Philip Clarke, Peter Abrikian, Noelle Kerr, Karla Josephs, Coleen Lewis and members of the Fairfield Youth Troupe.
Said Prout, “This particular project has been much of a labor of love for me, a mini-obsession, since my dear friend Jane Crichton inflicted the manuscript on me in 2006.” Truly, the creative crew at the Fairfield Theatre showed audiences that it doesn’t have to be high tech and expensive to be entertaining. Even on a tight budget, the cast and production team did a great job reflecting the thoughts of the author through exceptional set design and lighting effects, entertaining the audience with outstanding singing, dancing and acting skills.
Musical Director and composer David Tulloch’s beautiful and catchy music specially produced for the play also brought a whole new dimension to the play, giving spectators the feeling of being at a musical in London’s West End. Several island visitors had found their way to the Fairfield Theatre to see White Witch, and comments ranging from “fantastic” to “incredible”, were among the many superlatives uttered among theatre-goers who were thrilled to have witnessed the production.
Be sure to enjoy one or more of the outstanding performances by the Montego Bay Little Theatre Movement at the Fairfield Theatre. THE MONTEGO BAY LITTLE THEATRE MOVEMENT Founded by the now retired Paul Methuen in 1975, with the assistance Henry and Greta Fowler from ‘Kingston’s Little Theatre Movement’ (KLTM), the ‘Montego Bay Little Theatre Movement’ (MLTM) was inspired by Methuen’s drive for class theatrical expression. A group of benevolent Montegonians raised the required public interest and funding to create the charming, intimate Fairfield Theatre, just minutes from the center of Montego Bay.
Converted out of an old pavilion overlooking the famed grass courts of the once posh Fairfield Estate, the 175 seat theatre has the classic proscenium-arch type stage, the widest, out of the current collection of small theatres on the island. The theatre’s very first presentation in 1975 was a combination of three one-act plays aptly called ‘3 to 1’, and as many expatriates were among those involved in the formative period of the mid-seventies, it is not surprising that many of the early staged plays were either British or American in origin and nature. Methuen was already a celebrated director of many Shakespearean works in Kingston, leading to mandatory productions of Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet.
As MLTM became firmly committed to staging a wider variety of productions, the entire gamut of African, American, West Indian, British and Jamaican pieces have been staged at the theatre with success. With the gradual change in both audience base and in the composition of the Management Committee driving the theatre’s course, most Jamaican playwrights such as Trevor Rhone, Louis Marriott, Patrick Brown, Basil Dawkins and David Heron have been dramatized at the Fairfield Theatre.
Earlier productions that have traveled to Kingston to receive even more critical acclaim include Night of January 16th and the Jamaican play Feminine Justice by Basil Dawkins, which has also been staged overseas. With a rich history of varied successes and the acceptance of the community as a veritable institution, the management of Montego Bay’s only little theatre is proud of its reputation as an amateur organization of the strictest professional standards. Having managed to inspire young talent and hone more experienced performers over the last thirty years, there is now a dire need for corporate assistance to sustain the theatre’s efforts.
A major success, the recent staging of Jane Crichton’s musical play White Witch has received rave reviews from both locals and tourists. Said the Jamaican playwright, “I have been fascinated by the story of Annie Palmer for many years ever since visiting the ruins of Rose Hall at night as a teenager.” Normally portrayed as an evil witch, Crichton’s aim was to put Annie Palmer, in a different light, a frustrated and lonely woman trapped in a man’s world. Directed by Douglas Prout, the play premiered in February 2010 with a cast of excellent Jamaican actors. Appearing in the lead role of the White Witch of Rose Hall, one of the hottest commodities on the Jamaican theatre landscape Maylynne Walton, demonstrated her wide range of acting talent. Among the other gifted actors were Keiran King, who last appeared in Dreamgirls, Philip Clarke, Peter Abrikian, Noelle Kerr, Karla Josephs, Coleen Lewis and members of the Fairfield Youth Troupe.
Said Prout, “This particular project has been much of a labor of love for me, a mini-obsession, since my dear friend Jane Crichton inflicted the manuscript on me in 2006.” Truly, the creative crew at the Fairfield Theatre showed audiences that it doesn’t have to be high tech and expensive to be entertaining. Even on a tight budget, the cast and production team did a great job reflecting the thoughts of the author through exceptional set design and lighting effects, entertaining the audience with outstanding singing, dancing and acting skills.
Musical Director and composer David Tulloch’s beautiful and catchy music specially produced for the play also brought a whole new dimension to the play, giving spectators the feeling of being at a musical in London’s West End. Several island visitors had found their way to the Fairfield Theatre to see White Witch, and comments ranging from “fantastic” to “incredible”, were among the many superlatives uttered among theatre-goers who were thrilled to have witnessed the production.
Be sure to enjoy one or more of the outstanding performances by the Montego Bay Little Theatre Movement at the Fairfield Theatre. THE MONTEGO BAY LITTLE THEATRE MOVEMENT Founded by the now retired Paul Methuen in 1975, with the assistance Henry and Greta Fowler from ‘Kingston’s Little Theatre Movement’ (KLTM), the ‘Montego Bay Little Theatre Movement’ (MLTM) was inspired by Methuen’s drive for class theatrical expression. A group of benevolent Montegonians raised the required public interest and funding to create the charming, intimate Fairfield Theatre, just minutes from the center of Montego Bay.
Converted out of an old pavilion overlooking the famed grass courts of the once posh Fairfield Estate, the 175 seat theatre has the classic proscenium-arch type stage, the widest, out of the current collection of small theatres on the island. The theatre’s very first presentation in 1975 was a combination of three one-act plays aptly called ‘3 to 1’, and as many expatriates were among those involved in the formative period of the mid-seventies, it is not surprising that many of the early staged plays were either British or American in origin and nature. Methuen was already a celebrated director of many Shakespearean works in Kingston, leading to mandatory productions of Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet.
As MLTM became firmly committed to staging a wider variety of productions, the entire gamut of African, American, West Indian, British and Jamaican pieces have been staged at the theatre with success. With the gradual change in both audience base and in the composition of the Management Committee driving the theatre’s course, most Jamaican playwrights such as Trevor Rhone, Louis Marriott, Patrick Brown, Basil Dawkins and David Heron have been dramatized at the Fairfield Theatre.
Earlier productions that have traveled to Kingston to receive even more critical acclaim include Night of January 16th and the Jamaican play Feminine Justice by Basil Dawkins, which has also been staged overseas. With a rich history of varied successes and the acceptance of the community as a veritable institution, the management of Montego Bay’s only little theatre is proud of its reputation as an amateur organization of the strictest professional standards. Having managed to inspire young talent and hone more experienced performers over the last thirty years, there is now a dire need for corporate assistance to sustain the theatre’s efforts.
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