THE HISTORY OF THEATRE GUILD GUYANA
The Theatre Guild (TG) was founded in 1957, the Playhouse was opened in 1960 and the organization was incorporated on September 9, 1961. The catalytic role which the TG played even before the construction of the Playhouse as a theatre, and its incorporation, is evident in accounts of the TG’s ability to mobilize under one umbrella the activities of other smaller amateur dramatic societies, who were engaged in the production of plays, and create a community whose activities soon expanded to include dance and training at both the practical and formal levels.
Our Beginnings
Our Evolution Between The Late 1950’s And Mid 1990’s!
In these decades the volunteers that ran the Theatre Guild was responsible for the development, training and education of actors, dancers, directors, choreographers, stage practitioners and some of the foremost Guyanese playwrights. This was achieved through workshops, productions, competitions, particularly playwriting competitions, and scholarships.
The Chronicle Christmas Annual 1966 declared that ‘the year 1966 will go down as the year when the theatre in Guyana became established as a movement with the support of the masses’. In the forefront of the movement were the performances mounted at the Playhouse. These included an evening of three one-act plays, all Guyanese, which were the three prize winners of the Guild's playwriting competition the year before.
The plays were: "Dhanwattie" by John Campbell, a suspenseful recreation of one of Guyana's most sensational ritual murders; "Fo' Bettin' or Worse," by Sheila King - an amusing tale of matrimonial double crossing; and "The Dead Son," the first prize-winner by Victor Ramraj - a well constructed play with some fine characterisation. There were two other Guyanese plays during the year - "Guyana Legend" by Ricardo Smith, a full length musical play, and Jan Carew's "University of Hunger," a hard-hitting, brittle work about a jail break. The year's children's production was "Toad of Toad Hall", a brilliant fantasy well acted and beautifully costumed.
The other two adult productions were Bertolt Brecht's "Threepenny Opera," and "Send Me No Flowers," an American comedy; "Threepenny Opera" was a fine mixture of international talents. The opera was written by the satirist, Brecht, and the music by Kurt Weill, both of whom were Germans. The opera was adopted from the English 18th Century "Beggars Opera." The Theatre Guild production changed the setting from London's Soho to Georgetown's own, Tiger Bay district by Frank Pilgrim and Peter Anderson sharpened Brecht's satirical barbs for Guyanese audiences. Along with the actors it was noted that the Playhouse’s activities included performances by the Woodside Choir, the Theatre Guild Dance Group, the Pelicans Steel Band, the Symphony Orchestrations and crowds of children.
The activities in subsequent decades were as Godfrey Chin remembers the best of times:
In its ‘golden years’ the Guild mounted six major productions each year. Errol Hill, the acclaimed Caribbean writer and dramatist, once described the Theatre Guild as the most vital theatre group in the region. Francis Farrier recalls, the Theatre Guild running workshops where they
The activities of the Guild further created what was to become the most popular form of comic theatre in Guyana - the brand of annual satirical revue (now known as The Link Show) which began as The Brink series for which local playwright Frank Pilgrim was mainly responsible. Over the years, the creative, entertainment, educational and societal benefits of the activities of the Theatre Guild were evident in the scope of the skills and knowledge and stagecraft which were imparted by and acquired by the thousands of people who participated as volunteers in the many areas of the organisation’s commitment to the development of all aspects of the theatre in Guyana.
One commentator wrote that the Theatre Guild:
“Showtime...The lights would flicker twice for both the spectators and the actors to take their places. A hushed silence would fill the packed auditorium. The excitement was electrifying as the curtain slowly rose for yet another TG production”.
“Brought people like Errol Hill from Trinidad, Derek Walcott – St. Lucian working out of Trinidad. So Theatre Guild was like a theatre university, because you had people from all over the world. You had people from Canada, from America, from the rest of the Caribbean, from England, from certain parts of Europe. We had people from India; we had people from Australia even. So, my early groundings and learning was as if I was attending university”.
“Was responsible for the development, training and education of actors, dancers, directors, choreographers, stage practitioners and some of the foremost Guyanese playwrights. This was achieved through workshops, productions, competitions, particularly playwriting competitions, and scholarships during its strong years in the 1960s and up to, perhaps, circa 1984”.
Our Decline Into Disrepair!
In the last two decades of the 20th century, many of the ‘graduates’ of the TG would move on to other parts of the Caribbean and the wider world taking with them the talent nurtured in the TG’s environment. The active membership and with them the activities sponsored by the TG began to dwindle in spite of the efforts and talent of the small group of people who remained committed to the arts in Guyana. The playhouse building began to fall into disrepair. After a brief attempt at revival between 1994 and 1996 it looked as though the final curtain was about to fall on an institution which had been a major force in the artistic live of Guyana.
Our Determination To Regain And Deepen Our Foot Print In The Development Of And Appreciation For The Arts Across Our Land! Or, How We Infused An Injection Of Hope Into A Seeming “Paralysis Of The Spirit”
In spite of the disrepair, the Playhouse remained strong enough to provide a venue for the weekly Sunday services of a local congregation, and the occasional rental by the School of Nations which located opposite to the Playhouse for the production of their 6th form plays and as workshop space by various groups. These uses and the fees of the dwindling membership covered the costs of the electricity and water bills and a very modest stipend to a resident janitor.
Our determination to regain and deepen the footprint which began fifty years ago, is grounded in the commitment made in 2004 by a small group of our members who came together to investigate what had to be done to get the TG on her feet again. A group individuals who share a commitment to the love of theatre and a belief in the social and educational values inherent in the practice of all aspects of stagecraft created the volunteer structure for action. The structure consisted of The Board of Directors who assumed the responsibility for the Interim Management of the TG and the creation of a Board of Trustees who were charged with the responsibilities of raising the funds to support the restoration of the Playhouse and engaging with an engineer to develop the plans for the structural renovation.
As evidenced in the accompanying pictures the renovation to the structure of the playhouse is grounded in the original foot print with adaptations to allow for the expansion of the seating though the construction of a balcony. In addition, the restoration has allowed for the installation of a lighting and sound system consistent with the demands of quality theatrical productions, renovations to the drainage which will alleviate the danger of flooding, and an appropriate landscape design. To accommodate a range of theatrical productions and the anticipated rental demands of the facility, the building will also be air conditioned.
Our Commitment To Financial And Program Sustainability!
Our commitment to the financial and program sustainability of Theatre Guild Inc is grounded in our recognition of the important role it has to play in the national life of our community in the 21st century, and our determination to ensure that the younger generations of Guyanese will have the opportunity to learn about and appreciate the magic of engagement in the creative arts in all its manifestations.
We will do this through the aggressive recruitment of a revitalized active membership of individuals and groups who share the vision of the Theatre Guild and are willing and able to give the time and energy essential to the realization of the vision outlined above. We will also seek the in kind and financial support of private and public sector corporate entities who recognize the societal and educational benefits of the engagement of Guyana’s youth in the programming we are proposing to undertake.
We also recognize the income generating potential of the restored Playhouse and will seek to maximize this potential through the active marketing of the facility as a venue for use by a wide range of public and private sector organizations across Guyana and in the Caribbean.
We envision the programming of activities which are done in collaboration with educational institutions at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels,(for these collaborations we are counting on the support of the Minister within the Ministry of Education Dr. Desrey Fox who has expressed support for the for the revival of the Theatre Guild Playhouse when the Ministry of Education hosted the secondary schools’ drama festival during Education Month in 2007), grass-roots community based organizations, and the range of social organizations working with vulnerable children and youth. The ultimate beneficiaries of these programs will be the community of children, parents and citizens of Guyana from all walks of life.
Theatre Guild Inc’s direct programming of theatre productions including plays, workshops in performance, playwriting stage and set design, storytelling, music and poetry writing and reading, will take into consideration the visions outlined above and seek to engage the a cross section of the local and regional communities in every way possible.
Our Appreciation To All Those Who Contributed To Our Creation And Our Ability To Rise Up Again!
The restoration of the TG’s Playhouse and the revitalization of programming would not have been possible without the generosity of the financial and in-kind donations provided by a wide range of private and public sector corporations, individual citizens of Guyana, members of the Guyanese Diasporas in Barbados, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, government of other states, and individuals who volunteered their time and expertise to the restoration of the Playhouse.