If you were looking for inspiration and intellectual stimulation on the night of Saturday, March 7, 2009, Negril’s Kool Runnings Water park was not the place to be.

For when ‘Constable’ Keith ‘Shebada’ Ramsay sashayed onto the set of Garfield ‘Bad Boy Trevor’ Reid’s Bashment Granny 2, it was clear that he had come to arrest – not the fans of classical theatre – but the funnybones of the entire south western tip of the island who came out for a night of rowdiness and bellyful of loud laughs.

And believe me, Stages Production, a major player in the Jamaican roots theatre, gave them got their money’s worth.

As the cross-dressing perplexed bar operator, Maxwell Grant’s costume changes were quick, and his make-up and wardrobe team deserve commendation for their convincing work.

Veteran actor Volier Johnson, aptly described as Santa Claus with his natural full head of silver hair and thick silver beard; was cast as the nonchalant lawyer; a role for which he was well suited.

Playing opposite to him is the equally well-established actress Deon Silvera who delivered her lines with excellent clarity. Shebada’s sidekick, the female bartender, held her own as she played daftness and naiveté in a role which was humorously scripted that way.

Bashment Granny 2, as the name implies makes no pretext to be Shakespeare or standard drama. The audience, apparently, has come to expect that, and when you hear audience members buzzing that they are looking forward to Bashment Granny 3, it is confirmed.

The drama is, comparatively, a very long one and much of the non-plot-advancing moments could be eliminated. Shebada has a lot of lines and physical action including a Bruce Lee-type aerial kick that would not be attempted by the faint-hearted. Whether doing a classical Moliere farce or a Jamaican Roots Theatre satire, great concentration is required to adequately handle the volume of lines and actions; and he was on target.

A one-man tour de force on stage, with reasonable comic timing and an innate sense of what the audience likes, he played his moments to fullest.

There were a lot of children and babies at Saturday night’s show. I wondered why, because although the play is not x-rated or profane it contains very adult scenarios and risqué material that does not quite fit in the established definition of ‘wholesome family drama’. Sadly too, these young ones were exposed to the unfortunate picture of adults sitting complacently during the playing of the National Anthem prior to the start of the drama.

People, if you are listening, you simply must do better!

The show’s direction broke no new creative ground, nevertheless it had women jumping out of their chairs in delight and chanting along in unison with certain lines that had become popular through the advertising slots on television.

In these stressful economic times, simple theatrical activities such as Bashment Granny 2 provide an excellent opportunity for laughter.

Unfortunately for many rural Jamaicans, this type of drama is what they are most likely to ever experience as other standard forms that are featured in the theatre spaces in Kingston or Fairfield in Montego Bay, do not travel out due to technical limitations and financial risk.