The first night of the 2025 Theatre Festival certainly set the tone for a week of excitement and theatrical entertainment. Taking the stage last night were All Saints Secondary School with “Buried Beneath Her Name” and Jennings Secondary School with “ The Duoen’s Embrace”. This thematic coincidence of betrayal and a step into the spirit world delighted the audience, whetting their appetites for the week’s remaining performances.
Making her stage debut as writer and director, Keri-Ann Ramsay weaved a sad tale of betrayal in Buried Beneath Her Name. Beginning with a blood-curdling scream from a mother embracing her daughter’s lifeless body, the spirit of the daughter observes a series of police interviews with those closest to her. Unearthing one betrayal after another – from an unfaithful boyfriend and disloyal best friend – the audience discovers that the protagonist contracted HIV from her abusive stepfather. These interviews begin to confirm that suicide was not the cause of death. Through flashbacks and a commendable red herring, the stepfather’s final interview reveals the mother who ultimately delivered the fatal betrayal.
In Centillia Browne’s The Duoen’s Embrace, there was another walk into the spirit realm with the Caribbean mythical character Duoen. This piece featured a compelling beginning that invites mystery with a dash of “spook. ” The opening split scene depicted a woman engaged in dark arts, conjuring a spirit who makes its way to the delivery room and steals the spirit of a newborn. In a flash forward, we saw that the conjuring woman has her own daughter and is elated to inherit the family property. As they unpacked boxes for their new life, a phone call warned the woman to be mindful of her child now that they live so close to the forest. In a nightmarish dream, the audience is transported to a childhood flashback showing why the woman conjured the evil spirit – she sought revenge on her cousin. Awoken by fright, the woman soon finds that she is living in a nightmare as the Duoen and the evil spirit returned to reclaim her child. Knitted into this tale of karma was a beautiful tribute to their transitioned classmate Tyrell “TJ” Buckley, whose last appearance at the festival also embodied a character from the spirit world.
With gripping plots that had the audience eagerly awaiting climactic revelations, the students delivered strong performances for the festival’s first night. Apart from a few technicalities with vocal work and blocking, both performances set the bar for the remaining schools.
Tonight, beginning at 7 pm, the Ottos Comprehensive and Princess Margaret Schools take the stage, both premiering original productions.