National pantomime ‘Channel 876’ is a theological puzzle

Put the pieces of a jigsaw set together, and you should have a complete picture. But Boxing Day’s closing curtain of the national pantomime left me puzzled by its theological premise. If the children in the audience, which only half-filled the Little Theatre, were in a similar state of mind, it is indeed a perplexing conundrum.

Children are the mainstay of the pantomime these days. That is why when the show returns for an extended run in the new year, it will be, according to the producers, “particularly for the school and church groups who still faithfully travel from all areas of the island” to see it.

Because we humans look to supernatural beings for help in running our lives, God in His numerous forms has been a favourite character in our stories – our poems, songs, novels, movies, etc. Sometimes, the depiction is realistic, sometimes not.

The writers of the current pantomime – Anya Gloudon-Nelson and The Pantomime Company workshop – have come up with a brand-new God. He is Fawda Jack, who is about 10 feet tall, wears what looks like the leaves of a breadfruit tree, and his favourite pastime is watching Channel 876, which depicts the drama in the Jamaican community of Harvest Mount.

Fawda Jack is part of the jigsaw which sees real problems arise for the community when his son, Lou (Derrick ‘Khafari’ Clarke), not only looks like the Devil – with his full-red costume – but acts like one. He causes trouble in Harvest Mount.

The story’s inciting incident is that Lou returns to heaven after months of wandering around Earth and decides to shake things up in Mount Harvest. He is not happy, apparently, that the people “live in harmony, blessed by a fruitful land that provides produce for the community’s processing depot”. His feeble excuse is that he wants them to try new things – exactly what he doesn’t say – and so causes the processing machinery to fail just when there is a crucial order to fill.

Now, Lou doesn’t cause trouble by working through the citizens. He physically interferes with the machinery. This raises the major question of the show: how does God intervene in our lives? It’s the freedom-of-choice question that has been debated from the concept of God entering the mind of homo sapiens.

The nature of the relationship between God and humans could have been better explored. Freedom of choice is, arguably, God’s most important gift to us, enabling us to choose between right and wrong. But Lou’s actions suggest that we are automatons, even though the residents keep talking about their resilience after adversity.

As is traditional with the pantomime, there is a romantic subplot. It involves two couples in this production. Mirroring the return of Lou, like a prodigal son, is Desmond (Jamahli Rhoden), the son of the village chairman, Clifford (Kevin Halstead), who also returns home with new ideas. His childhood sweetheart is Bella (Fabenelle Williams) – very pretty in pink.

The other love interests are played by Starry (Shama Reid), who stayed home with his pretty childhood sweetheart, Cherita (Latoya Newman). Unfortunately, the writers put obstacles in the way of either couple, so their stories proceeded smoothly and quite blandly.

Audiences who might be as puzzled as I was by the storyline will turn to the other aspects of the production for entertainment – the acting, the music, and the visuals (lights, dance, costumes, set, and props). These are a mixed bag in terms of quality.

Though his motives as a character are questionable, as an actor, Clarke is outstanding. His speech is crystal clear, his movements athletic, and his interpretation of the devil figure ever fresh. Most of the other actors do reasonably well and give varied portrayals as their characters change, if not develop. Unfortunately, most characters are flat and remain at the end what they were at the beginning. Lou does seem to develop a bit and claims that he learns a lesson from the trouble he causes. However, we don’t believe him. He is too intelligent not to have foreseen the consequences of his actions.

The overture – snatches of the show’s tunes and songs – is dreary. Instead of being bright and bouncy, the opening bars especially are funereal. Happily, it gets a bit brighter as it proceeds, but it never soars. The lyrics, by Gloudon Nelson and Lesly Ann Wanliss, the director, don’t give the normally excellent musical director, Grub Cooper, a chance to shine. You don’t leave the show humming anything memorable, as happened often in the past.

The term “workmanlike” just about covers the lights (Rohan Gowie) and most of the movement (Patrick Earl and George Howard). Still, there is a brilliant bit of dancing during the fire sequence. On the whole, the costumes (Gloudon-Nelson and Duane Bennett) are just ordinary work clothes (white for the angels in heaven – with some having very sturdy wings). The set (Maya Wilkinson) is simply functional, with quite a colourful backdrop of outside the town.

Lou has two short lightning sticks that do light up nicely, but the props representing the fruit used for processing (jimbilin) just look like bits of sponge. They are particularly unrealistic when being “picked” – one fruit is continually, annoyingly, prodded with a stick, but it stubbornly remains on the artificial-looking tree.

The latest national pantomime offers a mix of bold ideas but uneven execution. While its theological exploration is ambitious, the narrative’s muddled approach to freedom of choice and divine intervention undermines its potential impact.

After Sunday, December 29, the production takes a break till the new year.

entertainment@gleanerjm.com