In honour of the contribution made by our African ancestors to the preservation of our Carnival celebrations, Eintou Pearl Springer, poet and playwright has decided to use the African spelling of the word ‘Kambule' as the title of her play about the 1881 riots.
Historian and scholar Professor Maureen Warner-Lewis documents that the word ‘Kambule' is Kikongo for ‘procession'. The more familiar word ‘Canboulay' comes from the French ‘Cannes Brulees', Burning of the Canes. In using the kikongo word, Eintou continues her own passionate journey to always strive for authenticity and historical accuracy in her work.
Patrons of this year's show will be treated to a number of new and exciting insertions into the script which will be revealed during the performance. The main cast is an experienced and talented one featuring Muhammad Muwakil, actor and Spoken Word poet and Gamma Ghost Spoken Word poet as the Pierrots. Camille Quamina comes on stage again as Cariso Jane, and this year she takes over the men of the barrack yard with her ex-tempo talents. Keon Francis returns as the powerful Bois Man and Maitre L'Ecole, while Ken Alexis, the Chantwell controls the crowd with his strong renditions of African and Stickfight lavways. Dara Healy brings the saucy, tragic and complicated Baby Doll to life and Eintou herself plays Ms. Edna the Elder who spiritually holds the community together.
The cast is ably supported on stage by the drumming group Chibale, comprising Kayode Charles, Ajani Healy and Shomari Healy ages 7-11years, as well as Joel Charles, musician and Louis Mc. Williams, known for his skills as a dancer, choreographer and actor. This year he joins the Gayelle as a drummer too!
Another first for the production is that it will be performed for a southern audience on Carnival Thursday morning, also at 5am, on Coffee Street in front of the Skiffle Bunch pan yard. Friday morning remains the main event in Port of Spain, where the most significant riots took place, led by the Bois men and women of Laventille.
Look forward to seeing you at this year's production of Eintou Springer's ‘KAMBULE', Five Five Five in the Morning!
Check out the event invitation on our Facebook page, keep checking the site for more updates on Kambule 2010 and as always …
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