Marcia Rowe, Gleaner Writer

Left: 'Word Medicine' features performances of poetry, interspersed with dance and music. Right: Lettie (Nyanda Cammock, left) and Katie (Noelle Kerr) square of in 'Di Fallen Angel an Di Devil's Concubine'. - photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

When Di Fallen Angel & Di Devil's Concubine debuted in the late 1980, it experienced relative success. And while serious plays traditionally do not endure in Jamaica, this well-constructed script has the potential to thrive.

The play tells the story of two elderly female vagrants, Christina/Lettie and Lillian/Katie, who occupy a derelict building. Armed with knowledge of legal jargon and documents to support their arguments each woman claims the building as hers. As the plot unfolds their tumultuous lives are revealed. Both have been subjects of emotional and physical abuse. Now, as social outcasts, they must battle the constant harassment from those who try to harm them.

In contrast, Word Medicine is a medley of poetry interspersed with two dances and recorded music. The poems combined paint a picture of decadence due to social ills, but conclude that with resilience, "like dust we shall rise".

Moving performance

While it was an excellent decision to have total blackout for the opening of the second act of Words of Medicine, complemented by a moving performance from Dane Richards, director, Fabian Thomas, failed to capture the depth of Di Fallen Angel & Di Devil's Concubine in his blocking. It lacked energy, with too much concentration on the downstage areas. The simultaneous entrance of Katie and Lettie at the start of the play not only created split focus but put a hole into the illusion that both women were not aware of each other's presence.

Further weakening the blocking was the ungainly presence of the white plastic table and chairs placed centrestage. The spark produced when Katie (Noelle Kerr) writes a letter to her brother and Lettie (Nyanda Cammock) reads a will from her former employer died with an ineffective Kodak moment ending.

Nyanda Cammock gave a fair account of Lettie, at moments capturing her wit but not her spirit. A neatly tied head and well-wrapped apron detracted from the character's mental state and social status. Vocally, Noelle Kerr was weak; her high pitch and often whining voice did not help her youthful appearance for a 70-year-old Katie.

Rushae Watson and Dane Richards performance of the 'dirty' dance, 'Hit the Ground' and the final act in Word Medicine may provide a reason to see Two for On.