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“Thou shalt not” is a phrase that Pastor Holiness utters often throughout the course of the play of the same name, which is currently showing at Green Gables Theatre, Cargill Avenue. The pastor uses it to warn his congregation against doing many things, more of them activities that he personally finds displeasing than God and the Bible forbid.
But the playwright, Balfour Anderson – who is also the producer, set designer and director – intends the play to be a warning to pastors like Pastor Holiness (played alternately by Joshua Tomlin and Rowan Byfield). As we were talking about the play’s theme, Anderson declared, “Too many things like that going on in churches.”
The church leader he has created is a money-grabber and a lecher, who, during the church service, tries to squeeze all the money he can from his congregation. He spends the rest of his time trying to seduce one of his flock, named, not surprisingly, Cherry (Sherika McLean).
This summary outline may suggest why Anderson calls the Thou Shalt Not production “a morality comedy,” but Pastor Holiness could easily be a character in a tragedy, and the majority of the situations in churches led by pastors like Holiness are probably tragic. Certainly, the many media stories about those situations tend to be tragic. Anderson’s decision to treat the subject lightheartedly is another example of how Jamaicans “tek bad tings mek joke”.
The other characters in this four-hander are Puncy (Janice Darling) Sherika’s mother, and David (Renard Anderson), a congregant who is in love with Cherry. All the cast perform with a true-to-life naturalness that is appealing.
Also attractive are the visuals of the production, specifically the costumes and set. As the story stretches over several years, which we deduce from seeing Cherry move from being a university student to becoming a doctor – complete with white shirt-jack and stethoscope, there are numerous costume changes and lots of pleasing colour.
The set is also colourful, and because it is cleverly designed, the tiny stage shows and suggests a surprisingly large number of space. Act One is set in the church, which includes the auditorium where the audience is seated, for we are addressed by those on stage as the congregation. On the stage are a pulpit, a nook at stage right for officials to sit, windows with coloured panels and a huge, sparkling cross overlooking everything.
Act Two is set in Puncy’s nicely furnished home, with the action taking place in her on-stage living room and kitchen, as well as several offstage spaces to which doors and a window lead.
While Anderson’s extensive experience as a playwright and educator is undeniable, Act One of this play feels surprisingly underdeveloped. Despite his impressive credentials, including his training at Mico Teachers’ College and Edna Manley College’s School of Drama, the writing in this section comes across as somewhat amateurish.
As a seasoned theatre practitioner, Anderson is likely aware of the importance of the ‘show, don’t tell’ principle in playwriting. Yet, in Act One, much of the exposition is directly told to the audience, rather than demonstrated through action. For instance, the audience is informed about the church’s dire financial situation, yet this is not depicted visually – oddly, the pastor is seen wearing several gold chains.
An explanation for this writing choice came, unwittingly, from Anderson, as he told The Gleaner about the “peculiar” way he came to write the play. He mentioned that the first component that came to him was the title, and for two months, he made notes relating to it, including getting some ideas from Tomlin, whom he had in mind for the role of the pastor. He then wrote the entire second act before tackling the first.”
“I’ve never structured a play like that before,” Anderson said. The statement suggested that Act One was written to justify the events in Act Two, when playwriting professors say a story should flow organically from the needs and wants of the characters.
Happily, Act Two is more interestingly written, with the action being between the onstage characters, with the audience watching through the “fourth wall,” not being included in the action. There is quite a lot of tension in that act as Pastor Holiness tries to bring his long-held desire for Cherry to its natural culmination. The many dramatic plot twists and surprises that occur cannot, of course, be revealed here.
Nowadays, benefit shows are vital to keeping live theatre going and the first show’s audience, of which I was a part, was there mainly in support of the Jamaica Netball Association. We enjoyed the game. Everybody won something.
English (US) ·