Understanding historical perspective in the theatre is always essential, not only for enjoying a production but also for gaining insight into what shapes people’s identities, their environments and the circumstances they inhabit.
Playwright Kanika Ambrose appears to acknowledge this in her opening night premiere of Moonlight Schooner. She wants to pass on stories to her young son about his lineage that brought him to precisely this point. Moonlight Schooner is the first step toward helping not only herself but also her son understand, question, and digest the reality of the world he finds himself in.
That brave reality becomes key figure at the top of the show.
Schooner opens during a terrifying storm at sea that becomes stunningly spectacular to watch. Designer Shannon Lea Doyle skillfully highlights the ship’s magnificence through subtle angles and suggestions. Raha Javanfar’s impressive lighting, combined with Thomas Ryder Payne’s excellent sound designs of waves crashing against the ship, serve as powerful reminders that a capsizing could occur at any moment.
The ship’s four crew members are doing their best to ensure that the ship does not sink.
Their ship ends up on the modern-day island, now St. Kitts. During this one night of being stranded, the men go out on the town for heavy drinking to continue, like ships, “to be battered by waves fighting crosswinds to find their course” as Director Sabryn Rock writes in her Director’s Note.
Eldest Shabine (Jamie Robinson) is a writer who sometimes scribes poetic and idealistic thoughts. Timothy (Daren A. Herbert) is a hot-blooded, stirring cauldron who often lives life on the edge. Lyle (Tony Ofori), who still lives with his mother, Janine (Nehassaiu deGannes), invites the other three to his house for drinks and further discussion. Janine is not keen on this idea. There’s the youngest, Vincy (danjelani ellis), who becomes the most impressionable in the group. One can’t help but feel sorry for him when the storm is raging at sea, as he is heaving and vomiting into a bucket.
Rock skillfully weaves a story of a solid ensemble of Caribbean male voices who“strive to be untethered, to be unburdened, to be good, to be employed, to be satiated and to improve their status.” There are some comical moments when the men (dressed as influential women from their lives) become part of the risks they take with encounters that are personal and interpersonal.
Where the story hits home for me as a theatregoer is the aftereffect after the men head out for a night of heavy drinking and bring back an unseen woman.
As the lone female, Nehassaiu deGannes delivers a firmly grounded performance that still lingers with me as I write this article a few days later. While the four men have gone out for a night of heavy drinking that involves an unseen woman, it is deGannes who carries the weight of the reality of what has occurred. She’s calm. She’s the epitome of strength when she sees the mess of the room. But does Janine (as a woman and mother) truly recognize the concern and horror of what has happened? Or is she trying to cover up the fact that she realizes what has occurred?
Again, two questions that crossed my mind as I left the theatre and that I still think about days after seeing the production.
Rock writes that the repercussions of the men’s choices and actions in Schooner will ripple through generations in the broad wake of colonialism.
As I continue watching such stories unfold on stage, I want to learn more about the generosity and courage not only of the artists and performers but also of those from whom these tales originate.
Running time: approximately 90 minutes with no interval/intermission.
Moonlight Schooner runs to December 14 at the Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 Berkeley. For tickets: canadianstage.com or call (416) 368-3110
NECESSARY ANGEL THEATRE COMPANY, CANADIAN STAGE and TARRAGON THEATRE present
Moonlight Schooner by Kanika Ambrose
Directed by Sabryn Rock
Set Designer: Shannon Lea Doyle
Costume Designer: Des’ree Gray
Lighting Designer: Raha Javanfar
Sound Designer: Thomas Ryder Payne
Stage Manager: Laura Baxter
Performers: Nehassaui deGannes, danjelani ellis, Daren A. Herbert, Tony Ofori, Jamie Robinson
