GARDEN THEATRE GALLERY
ABOUT
The Eucalyptus Garden Theatre
The Theatre Guild’s Eucalyptus Garden Theatre, open air theatre that harks back to the origins of theatre in ancient Egypt, Africa and India which pre-date even the Greek theatre traditions. Originally performance was thought to be a special communion with God. Since God was thought to be vested in nature, natural spaces were optimal to this communication and union. This idea also revolved around the sense oneness, of community and participation.
In this space the audience is inside and close to the action and not alienated from it as in the proscenium arch (square stage with actors above and audience below) that has become the popular norm worldwide. The stage of the Guilds Eucalyptus Garden Theatre is a perfect circle, the audience is seated around it coliseum style and all this is settled softly in a beautiful therapeutic garden behind the Guild's Playhouse in Kingston Georgetown Guyana.
The project to create the Eucalyptus Garden Theatre began in May this year when current Chair of the Theatre Guild, Dr. Paloma Mohamed became the first woman ever to receive the highly coveted Sabga Award as the Caribbean Laureate for Excellence in Arts and Letters, 2015. She has used her prize and other donations to fund the Theatre as a gift the Guild and people of Guyana. Mohamed worked closely with Trustee of the Theatre Guild and well-respected Engineer Bert Carter who designed and built the Theatre with the Rambarran Brothers. Vice Chair of the Guild, Malcolm DeFreitas managed the project.
GIFT TO GUYANA
The Eucalyptus Garden Theatre is intended to be gift that would replicate itself and keep growing. In a way its an investment in the future of the arts. Born from remembered conversations between Trustees Vic Insanely, David DeCaries and Hans Barrow many years ago about placing a hangout bar on the grounds in order to help raise funds to sustain the Theatre, and continuous re-visits to the idea by Executive Committee Members memories a kind of outdoor theater at the Guild in the 1960s and 70’s as well as Paloma’s extensive travels, the revenue generating Garden was agreed upon.
Additionally, the space would provide a low energy dependent addition to the Grand Playhouse itself. The concern of continuing to provide a space for upcoming voices and talents and faces was also a driver. The Guild is a community, which was created to discover, nurture and support the arts and artists.
One of the defining features of the Eucalyptus Garden Theatre is its location between the shade of three majestic and ancient Eucalyptus trees which have been growing behind the Guild for over 60 years. The Eucalyptus is known as one of the tallest plants on the planet. It absorbs huge quantities of water from the ground and is used for draining of marshes. It can also eradicate malaria by destroying wet habitats which are required for development of mosquito's eggs. So that this open air theatre is free of mosquitoes because of the presence and properties of these Trees.
Since the leaves of Eucalyptus are rich in oil that is used to alleviate symptoms of bronchitis, sore throat, nasal congestion and is used as an insecticide the space feels different from any known space for the moment. Most Eucalyptus trees can survive more than 250 years. The trees were also thought by the ancients to have mystical qualities of cleansing, protection and purification. The health benefits of eucalyptus oil are well-known and wide ranging, and its properties include anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, decongestant, deodorant, antiseptic, antibacterial, stimulating, and other medicinal qualities.
HEALING SPACE
Another defining feature of the Garden Theatre is the Romanesque columns which encircle the space providing grace, majesty and definition. They also provide another function. They are memory columns each of which captures in the stone a particular and important part of The Theatre Guild’s History. The idea was born when Dr. Frank Williams passed away a few months ago at age 92. Many Guild members only knew of his contributions when the family requested a photo from the archives. Saddened by this lack of knowledge of the Guild’s History it was resolved to use the Garden to document part of the Guild’s history especially its very early history. Trustee Ameena Gafoor of Gafoor’s industries and the publisher of The Arts Journal donated the columns for the Memory project. Plaques remember the founders to passed Guild alum icons like Andre Sobryan with room for many more in the future.
The Eucalyptus Garden Theatre is versatile, food and child friendly. It has a built in seating capacity of 65 and a further capacity for 800 placed chairs on its grounds. The Theatre Guild is a non-for profit training and performance support community.
MEMORY GARDEN
VERSATILE AND CHILD FRIENDLY