13th Feburary 2010
Nobel Laureate Week a Success

This year’s Nobel Laureate Week’s activities were the best so far.
The week began with the launch at the Cultural Centre of the week’s activities, with extracts from the musical by Derek Walcott, ‘The Joker of Seville,’ by youngsters, and that was creditably done, despite it being an exacting play requiring singing, dancing and acting. The play, I believe, was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company of England.
The second production that night was ‘The Harrowing of Bengy’ a play by Roderick Walcott, performed by the Soufriere Action Theatre and directed by Mr. Gandolph St. Clair. That group normally has been known for its Popular Theatre productions and this, their first major orthodox play was a credit to the group. Those who know the play were a bit puzzled by the long soliloquy by the policeman at the very commencement of the play, for that is not in Roddy’s script. The Director, however, explained, upon being questioned by this writer, that he had deliberately written that part in the play in an effort to give more depth, ostensibly, to the character of the Policeman. That apart it was indeed a good exercise for the Soufriere Action Theatre, a new departure for them which was well executed. The character, Bengy, was well handled by the actor playing the part and his acting went down well with the audience.
We look foreword for more of the same from that Soufriere group.
For the Derek Walcott Lecture by the Nigerian, Professor Wole Soyinka, the audience had been the best in several years of that event, with the Conference Room overflowing with people, leaving only standing room in the corridors. Professor Soyinka’s topic was ‘The Word, that is, Language. Several years ago Professor Janheinz Jahn of the University of Munich in Germany had written a book on the subject entitled ‘Muntu,’ which means the Word, in Bantu In the beginning was the word says the Christian Bible, and what God named became the thing named. ‘And God said let there be light, and there was light.’ The Africans did the same with ‘Muntu.’
It had been Adam’s task to do the same, and what he named became the thing named. .
The Hon. Derek Walcott in his long poem ‘Another Life,’ mentioned, also, that Adam’s task of naming things. ‘Adam’s Task,’ is also the title of Mgr. Patrick Anthony’s thesis for his Master’s Degree in Theology.
Prof. Janheinz Jahn mentioned above, is an authority on African and Neo-African literature and has written two books on the subject: ‘Muntu’ and ‘A History of Neo-African Literature.’ Among other things the book, ‘Muntu,’ deals with the African cultural situation in this day and age.