Jamaican Plays

One of the hallmarks of a good acting performance is the feedback that the actor (or actress) gets from the audience. Better yet, if the feedback is exactly what the actor has set out to achieve, then the actor knows that they have either hit the mark or come pretty close.

Christopher Hutchinson’s portrayal of the character “the Candyman” in Patrick Brown’s DIANA play comes pretty close to the coveted mark. Candyman is a character that the audience loves to hate. Hutchinson plays the antagonist who causes the life of the main protagonist to go into a tailspin. He does it with so much conviction that members of the audience openly throw verbal tantrums at the actor while he’s on stage. When an actor can move an audience to such an extent then we know that the actor has delivered big time. You know that the actor has his audience eating out of his hands.

The boiling point is reached when the Candyman not only uses his ill-gotten gains to force Doggie to agree to Candyman spending a night with Doggie’s woman Diana, but also has the temerity to insist that Doggie has to watch the act. The audience goes berserk when the Candyman appears to get his way, and Doggie is reduced to a little wimp.

The young, energetic and exciting cast of DIANA is led by Camille Davis in the role of ‘Diana’. She is well supported by Glen ‘Titus’ Campbell as Pops, Courtney Wilson as Doggie, Sakina Deer (alternating with Terrian Dias) as a deaf/mute go-go dancer who goes by the name Cher, and of course, Christopher Hutchinson as the Candyman.

Writer, Patrick Brown, takes the audience on a roller coaster ride of emotions in the laugh-a-line comedy. Award winning director Trevor Nairne has once again crafted a gem of a production, and again shows why he is widely regarded as the doyen of directing in Jamaican theatre. The actors gel together like a well-oiled machine and deliver a consistently high quality, believable performance each night … loaded with laugh-out-loud (LOL) comedy.

DIANA currently plays each week at the Centerstage Theatre in New Kingston – Wed-Fri (8 p.m.) and Sat./Sun. (5 p.m. and 8 p.m.)