Idakeda Group, the producers of Kambule – the annual re-enactment of the Canboulay riots of 1881 – said the production will be held on Carnival Friday, February 25, at 5 am, with other performances as well on that night and also on February 27.
Idakeda has partnered with the National Carnival Commission (NCC) for the Carnival Friday morning performance at 5 am, as part of the Taste of Carnival at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain. Performances will also take place on Friday night at 7.30 pm, and at 11.30 pm on Carnival Sunday night at the north-eastern end of the NAPA car park, Frederick Street, Port of Spain.
The ritual re-enactment of the 1881 Canboulay Riots, will move to a smaller, more controlled venue and will be staged according to safe-zone regulations, the organisers said.
Co-producer Atillah Springer said planning and research for the 2022 production began in September 2021. She said while the film produced in 2021 was good for the historical record, the cast was eager to be back on stage. She said many of the people the company works with are students of theatre and performance who have had a hard time of the past two years during the pandemic.
[caption id="attachment_939909" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Atillah Springer of the Idakeda Group, producers of Kambule – the annual re-enactment of the Canboulay riots of 1881. -[/caption]
“We met with the cast to find out what they wanted to do, and they said they liked to perform, that there’s an intimacy and electricity that goes into staging a production that doesn’t translate onto film, and it was that immediacy the cast wanted. People are hungry to get back on stage and into the ritual of performance.”
As part of the planning process the producers spoke to people in theatres in the UK and the US, who had returned to the stage, to learn more about their processes.
“I spoke to Nicolai La Barrie, who is the assistant executive director at the Lyric Theatre in London, about their protocols, testing, putting on daily productions, their rehearsal processes, the need for understudies, and all these things.”
She said the group also reached out to corporate sponsors in Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) and others to access resources. One such sponsor is the University of TT, and the Idakeda Group has partnered with UTT to offer theory and practical elements to its performance and production students.
Springer said a large part of the process was talking with the cast about why the group felt putting on the work is necessary.
“The information is not known to a lot of people. Many don’t see the connection between poor people speaking out against policy brutality in 1881 and what is happening to people of African descent worldwide now. It’s part of the history of Carnival. There’s a huge chunk of the evolution of Carnival that came out of struggle and people sacrificing, and it’s important that the participants understand that so they can embody it.”
[caption id="attachment_939956" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Kambule: The ritual re-enactm
