CAYMAN DRAMA SOCIETY One script, two casts, many twists
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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 February 1999.
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Now Colin may have outdone even himself with Cayman Drama Society's presentation of Cry in the Night, which opens next week. The major twist this time is that he's directing two separate casts: the individual talents and group dynamics have resulted in two different plays, he reported this week.
"At the auditions we had 30 people show up, two-thirds of them completely new. I had a terrible job choosing because they were all so good," Colin said. "I thought it would be interesting to see if two perform ers would interpret the same role differently. They certainly do."
Colin wrote the play over ten years ago, directed it and was a cast member as well. Presented at the new Harquail Theatre is May 1987 under the title Girl in a Wheelchair, the play was so popular its run was extended and the capacious venue was nearly filled for every performance.
Colin was thrilled by the play's success and happily accepted both congratulations and criticisms. He cheerfully acknowledges now that his acting was "dreadful," but says it compensated for by the talents of other cast members.
He also agreed that the ending was anti-climactic and the title could be improved.
After the Cayman Drama Society built its own home (the Prospect Playhouse at Red Bay), Colin wanted to do his play again. "But the timing had to be right. Ten years seemed to me to be almost perfect, but I still could not come up with a better title."
One night he was playing some music by the Irish group "Smokie" when the song "Cry in the Night" came on. "It hit me immediately. This was the title I was seeking for my play. Why not incorporate the music in the story?" Colin asked himself.
Not only did he incorporate, he recreated, rewriting some elements completely and updating others. Cry in the Night is about a young woman (alternately played by Melanie McLaughlin and Vanessa Hansen) who is confined to a wheelchair after a motor vehicle accident. She returns to her father's home on a Caribbean island to meet his new wife and stepchildren.
But her father isn't there and no one seems to know when he'll arrive. The she starts hearing him call to her, as a cry in the night. What happens next can be seen starting next Friday, 26 February.
To keep track of his actors, Colin identifies them by company names.
The Prospect Players are Martin Tedd, Felicity McInnes, Patricia Aitcheson, Melanie McLaughlin, Michele Sabti, Tim Woloshyn, Tony Rowlands [who took part in the original production], Phil Thomas, Madge Tompkins.
They will open the run on Friday and Saturday, then perform again on 11, 13, 17, 19 March.
The Playhouse Players are Damien Van't Kruis, Jennifer Ahearn, Cynthia Ebanks, Vanessa Hansen, Patricia Aitcheson [in a different role], Roger Carne, Robert Hensel, Stewart Morrison, and Madge Tompkins [the only carryover].
Their performances are 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 18 and 20 March.
Colin believes many people will want to see both groups so they can make the inevitable comparisons and contrasts. He'll be happy to hear anything they want to tell him.
Tickets may be reserved by calling Omeria at the Prospect Playhouse box office number, 949-5585.
