‘Demerara Gold’ one woman play set for local performance

Vincentians will be awarded the opportunity on February 28 at the Peace Memorial Hall to experience the one woman play ‘Demerara Gold,’ performed by actress and playwright Ingrid Griffith.

Demerara Gold is produced by Guyanese born actress Collette Jones-Chin, who is also of Vincentian descent, with her grandfather being a Vincentian.{{more}}

“My background is in the arts; I’m an actress, writer, designer, storyteller [and] painter,” Jones-Chin told SEARCHLIGHT during an interview on Tuesday, adding that she also designs costumes, which has caused her to frequently travel the Caribbean.

She described the play as an emotional roller coaster and praised Griffith’s talent.

Demerara Gold, written by Griffith, who is also Guyanese born, tells the semi-autobiographical tale of a seven-year-old Griffith, who, along with her nine-year-old sister Dawn, is left in the care of her two grandmothers when her parents are granted visas to move from Guyana to the United States.

However, after being reunited with their parents after four years, the girls realize that it wasn’t what they imagined it to be.

“She presents in that one story, in an hour and 45 minutes; 17 characters, she stands up in front of you and man, if you see where she rides her bicycle… you could swear this woman is riding a bicycle with the child and there’s no bicycle, this is how good she is,” an excited Jones-Chin said.

“The story itself drives you to tears, makes you laugh; it’s real.”

Before her public performance, Griffith, who is also both a lecturer in the theatre arts and a writer, will host a workshop for secondary school students of theatre arts on Wednesday, February 24 at the Peace Memorial Hall, followed by a performance for the schools on Thursday, February 25, costing $5 per child and teacher.

“Her main focus is not to perform to the public really, but is to enlighten students about the power of the theatre art, which is what I do too; this is why I was drawn to her,” Jones-Chin disclosed.

Adding to over 30 years of experience in the field of visual and performing arts, Jones-Chin holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Art Education and Fine Arts, along with several other certificates in Management and Strategic Planning, including a certificate in Fine Arts from the Mount Allison University, New Brunswick, Canada.

Jones-Chin, who operates her company Senaj Creations from her home, was also responsible for bringing ‘The Vagina Monologues’ here a few years ago, which carried her from mainland St Vincent to Bequia, Mustique and Anguilla.

“I’m for putting on good shows, shows to die for, so I want to keep that standard high and maybe give them better, because I’ve grown over the years,” she noted.

Having resided in St Vincent and the Grenadines for 14 years, she has also worked as a consultant in the Visual and Theatre Arts Curriculum Development.

As an artist, she has mounted several one woman exhibitions in Barbados, St Lucia, Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Grenada, Anguilla, St Kitts, St Maarten, Canada and the United States.

The main show and cocktail, which is priced at $50, would see an opening performance by Jones-Chin, her 14-year-old daughter Charisma Jones-Chin and her past student of theatre arts school in Guyana Keon Haywood, who will be performing a 20-minute piece before Griffith’s main performance.(AS)