Back-a-Yaad: a bag of laughs... but

Richard Johnson

Thursday, February 23, 2012

ACTRESS and producer Dahlia Harris is on a roll. Her last two theatre productions, Judgement and God's Way were met with rave reviews.

While her latest effort Back-a-Yaad, playing at the Pantry Playhouse in New Kingston, offers some laughs, it pales when compared to its predecessors.

Back-a-Yaad is set in Mucky Pen, formerly Majestic Gardens — one of those communities with two names a la Wilton Gardens/Rema, Arnett Gardens/Jungle. It chronicles the trials and tribulations of Jeremiah Pound — a character beautifully interpreted by Christopher McFarlane — a recent returning resident from the United Kingdom, who finds his community overrun with squatters.

His neighbours include Maddie, a multifaceted character who suffers from mental illness, is played with great skill by Deon Silvera; her son, Botte Drinks, a role taken by newcomer Kevoy Burton; The calming but scheming Empress and the loud, aspiring singer Rhiyoncé, which are both played by Harris.

In terms of acting, kudos must go to Harris, McFarlane and Silvera who all gave convincing performace. Harris' two characters are at two opposite ends of the energy spectrum and she manages to pull off both. Rhiyoncé is the loud tights and wig-wearing aspiring singer determined not to be voted off the talent competition, while Empress is the sedate Rastafari an who speaks in a monotone.

Harris manages to put a human face on Maddie's illness, and a tenderness in the way her son reacts to his mother. The most telling line in the production in when Maddie says:"The only thing worse that being called mad, is being called fool."

Despite the heavy theme of mental illness, Back-a-Yaad is a comedy, and there are some riotously funny moments. These particularly come from wannabe singer Rhiyoncé.

The major problem with Back-a-Yaad is the way the plot unfolds. It just happens, there is no build-up and support. Harris's script needed to have been tweaked to give the viewer a go-between. Without giving away too much, the audience needed a better idea of the power struggle taking place between Jeremiah Pound and Empress, in order to make that certain dramatic scene a little easier to swallow.

Instead, what you have is a major moment which leaves persons asking: Where did that come from? This is, however, soon glossed over with a few more witty lines from the cast.

Back-a-Yaad does well despite the weakness highlighted. However, having set the bar high for herself, Dahlia Harris must try to maintain her standards or even attain higher heights.