Prospect Playhouse finally finished Cayman Drama Society celebrates 20th anniversary with its own theatre
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from October 1990.
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Invited guests to the ceremony viewed the theatre's 50ft by 30ft stage, 26ft by 34ft auditorium, upstairs members bar, reception area, and more, with obvious enthusiasm and admiration for the dedication and work that had been put into the building to make it possible.
Among these guests were Mr. Benson Ebanks, ExCo Member for Education, Recreation and Culture, and Monsignor Meaney from the Catholic Church.
A special appearance was made by Prospect, a cat that has lived in the area for sometime. During the building of the theatre the cat adopted the Cayman Drama Society as potential parents and was fondly named after the structure. ture. He came on stage during the opening speech, made by Mr. Colin Wilson, Chairman of the Society, and Prospect succeeded in upstaging him.
Once everyone had made their way to seats in the auditorium Mr. Colin Wilson took to the stage to begin the proceedings.
Before telling the audience a brief encounter of the Playhouse's history, Mr. Wilson spoke of Mr. Val Morgan who was one of the founding members of CDS. Mr. Morgan had recently been in touch with Mr. Wilson and asked to be remembered at the theatre's opening ceremony.
Mr. Wilson went on to say "it is with great pleasure and a feeling of pride that I officially welcome you all to the Prospect Playhouse, the home of the Cayman Drama Society." He went on to remind the guests that the theatre is a reality mainly due to the achievements and "blood, sweat and tears" of the CDS members. To clarify this point he gave humourous detailed descriptions of the times of "blood, sweat and tears," one which involved Mr. Wilson himself, and this left the audience in stitches of laughter.
Mr. Wilson explained the history of the Playhouse by quoting from the minutes of past meetings discussing the project. (See the Friday 12 October issue of the Caymanian Compass, page A4 and A5, for details.)
He made a reference to the Harquail Theatre which was made possible by donations from Mrs. Harquail. He said "how lucky this island is to have such a beautiful theatre (the Harquail Theatre) and I want to applaud you, Mrs. Harquail, for that."
Mr. Wilson expressed his gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. Jack Andresen, for their donation of US$55,000 to the Cayman Drama Society for the Prospect Playhouse. This brought a large round of applause from the guests. Also "Government very, very kindly waived the duty charges" which enabled the theatre to be finished much easier, he said.
However, he continued, some funds are still needed and he pleaded for any donations "no matter how small."
"Support us please, support our plays. I promise we will give you our very best," he said. Mr. Wilson also mentioned the Society's trust fund that is dedicated to Cayman culture. He explained that it is protected so that the money cannot be used for any other purpose, but, he continued, the fund is also running dry.
"Already this year we have given from this fund $1,500 to the CNCC Playwriting Competition, and $500 to the Cayman High School which sent two students to England to take part in a world children's play which Royalty attended," he said.
"They didn't just go and represent the Cayman High School, they didn't even go and represent the Cayman Islands. They represented the whole of the British West Indies. Cayman was the only country in the British West Indies to send a child, and we sent two children, thanks to our (CDS) help," he continued.
Finishing his speech Mr. Wilson thanked all involved in the building of CDS's new home, for "a job well done," and he named Tony Rowlands and Peter and Penny Philips for the incredible amount of assistance and time they gave. "There is no doubt at all that this theatre would not be here now if it had not been for Peter and Penny Philips. They not only were the driving force behind the theatre, they worked and worked and worked and worked. The Cayman Drama Society owes these two people a tremendous debt," he said.
Mr. Benson Ebanks, who had been asked by Penny Philips, Secretary of CDS, to say a few words at the opening, then replaced Mr. Colin Wilson on stage. "It can truly be said that this building reflects and embodies much of Cayman's culture," he said. "Being built as it has been, in stages as funds permitted and being opened and occupied before it is completed, it's just as the Cayman homes were in years gone by."
"I am sure that many of you, like me this evening, remember with fondness and nostalgia, the early days of the Cayman Drama Society," Mr. Ebanks continued, adding "I am sure the theatre-going public in Cayman join me this evening in thanking the Cayman Drama Society for the pleasures they have provided for us over the past 20 years.
"I am sure that they would also wish for me to congratulate you, on their behalf, on reaching this milestone in providing yet another fine amenity in the form of this theatre for the island."
Monsignor Meaney, was then invited to bless the theatre. But, before he did so he expressed his pleasure of being at the evening's festivities.
"You have a theatre that will not only show comic productions, but comedy where we can see the happy ending of life," he said, adding that it was John the Apostle who wrote "Let us not be strangers to joy and laughter." Monsignor Meaney than blessed the theatre and asked God for joy and laughter to be brought to the people within it.
After the guests had quenched their thirst and sampled the hors d'oeuvres put out in their honour, the entertainment began. "Basil the Rat", from the Fawlty Towers series that had been playing at the Victory Theatre, was well received the first time it was shown. It again delighted this audience, however, the production was slightly different than the first as it was treated as a spoof on stage plays, accenting every actors nightmare.
Throughout the performance actors would come on stage without props, forget lines, be given the wrong prop, etc. These purposeful mistakes, as well as the good acting and funny script, provided a hilarious end to the evening. The first production to be staged at the Prospect Playhouse is the Pirate Princess, the Cayman Drama Society's contribution to Pirates Week.
The show runs from Monday 29 October to Friday 2 November and starts at 8pm each night. Tickets are $10 adults, $5 children and can be obtained from the Pirates Week Office, Philips Electrical or the box office at the Prospect Playhouse on the performance nights.
