Heron brings Jamaican ‘Obeah’ to Shakespeare
Caribbean L BQ ife, Aug. 2–8, 2019 39
Award winning Jamaican actor
and playwright David Heron has
been cast in the leading roles
of Oberon, King of the Fairies
and Theseus, Duke of Athens in
the Colonial Theatre of Rhode
Island’s Shakespeare in The Park
production of “A Midsummer
Night’s Dream.”
The production will open in
Rhode Island’s historic Wilcox
Park in Westerly on Friday, Aug.
2 and is slated to run till Sunday,
Aug. 18.
“A Midsummer Night’s
Dream” is one of Shakespeare’s
most renowned and iconic
comedies and is a popular staple
among theatre companies across
the USA for outdoor summer
productions.
The play follows the adventures
of four star-crossed lovers from
Athens who escape into a nearby
forest in pursuit of marriage and
romance only to fall under the
spell of the magical forest king
Oberon and his loyal wizard, the
fairy Puck. A series of hilarious
adventures ensues with spells
going awry and several cases
of mistaken identity before all
comes right in the end.
And in a unique twist on
Shakespeare’s play, Heron
will portray King Oberon
as a Jamaican conjurer and
practitioner of magical arts- or to
use the Jamaican terminology,
an ‘Obeah Man.’
According to Heron, “When
I started doing research for the
role, the irony struck me that
Shakespeare’s character is called
Oberon, and in Jamaica a man
who practices witchcraft is called
an ‘Obeah Man’. So Oberon,
Obeah Man… Did Shakespeare
know something that we didn’t?
And so when I told our director
Michael Scholar Jr and the rest
of the cast about the similarity
in names, it seemed really logical
that I should play Oberon as just
that- a kind of Jamaican king
of the forest who uses his other
worldly powers to cast spells and
manipulate others. So I think
that puts a pretty unique spin on
the story that I’m sure audiences
will enjoy.”
In the Colonial Theatre’s
revelatory new production,
Canadian director Scholar tells
the entire story of the play
through the eyes of a child, who
escapes her unhappy home life
by reading the story as a fairytale
in her bedroom. All the play’s
characters then come magically
to life as the tale unfolds.
Scholar’s unique approach to
the material intrigues Heron, a
Shakespeare veteran who has
also appeared Off Broadway and
across the USA in many other
Shakespearean productions
including Romeo and Juliet,
The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest,
Hamlet, Othello and Coriolanus.
“Obviously the roles of
Oberon and Theseus — which
are very often married together
and played by one actor in
productions of Midsummer—
are absolutely iconic, immensely
challenging, and a huge addition
to any actor’s resume,” he said.
“But Michael’s idea to frame the
story as a fairy tale unfolding
through the eyes of a child really
excited me. The play, though
comedic in nature does have
some very important things
to say about love, forgiveness,
and — being largely set in a
forest — about the environment
too. Since our children will
ultimately inherit the world we
leave behind, to see the child in
this production learning these
lessons as the audience does is a
uniquely moving and satisfying
experience.”
Heron also relishes the idea
of bringing some of his own
Jamaican and Caribbean culture
to yet another Shakespearean
work following the use of his
Jamaican accent in several
scenes in New York Classical
Theatre’s The Winter’s Tale some
years ago.”
“When you break out that
Jamaican dialect to speak
Shakespeare’s beautiful
language, something truly
magical happens — a kind of
seamless merger of two very
different cultures that may not
be so different after all. I think
it will be a very different Oberon
than many people in Westerly
have ever experienced, and that’s
a good thing.”
Jamaican actor and playwright David Heron.
Sure Thing Production
Third World announces new album
Reggae Ambassadors Third World
“celebrating 45 years” are set to release
their highly anticipated 22nd studio
album titled “More Work to Be Done”
on Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. The album
is produced by multi-Grammy-award
winning artist and producer Damian
“Jr. Gong” Marley and features an array
of artists: Chronixx, Tarrus Riley, Busy
Signal, Pressure Busspipe, Tessanne Chin
and Damian “Jr Gong” Marley, courtesy
of Ghetto Youths International.
“It certainly is full circle - our first
tour back in 1975 was opening for Bob
Marley and now in 2019 our latest
project is produced by Bob Marley’s
youngest son, Damian Marley. We call
him nephew and this nephew of ours is
out of the top drawer. Besides being a
world class performer, he is an amazing
producer, composer, songwriter and we
whole heartedly invite all music lovers
to take a listen to the magic Gong and
Third World created together. Yes, there
is ‘More Work to Be Done,’” says Stephen
“Cat” Coore.
Established in 1973, Third World has
transformed the way people experience
reggae worldwide. The six-member band
made their debut traveling in 1975 as
an opening act for the Bob Marley &
the Wailers’ World Tour. Since then the
group has pioneered the genre with an
extensive catalog of charted hits.
Awarded and recognized for their
musical contribution by the National
Black Arts and honored by the Caribbean
American Heritage Awards. Third
World is also the recipient of the United
Nations Peace Medal and has received 10
Grammy nominations. This marks their
first full studio album release since the
passing of the group’s veteran vocalist
William Clark, aka Bunny Rugs in 2014.
“More Work to Be Done” brings
together sounds from every corner
of the globe. Lead singer AJ Brown
delivers smooth and powerful vocals
with the accompaniment of the entire
band’s harmonies throughout the
album, bringing out that true signature
Third World sound in every song. With
a touch of new flavor, inspired by the
band’s vision and their producer and
“nephew” Jr Gong, the album ranges
from traditional to contemporary
roots-reggae, lovers rock, jazz-infused
rhythms to heavy hitting dancehall with
driving bass; an 11-song masterpiece
that demonstrates these accomplished
musicians’ consistency, growth and
transformation.
On Friday, July 26, Third World
released their third single featuring
Reggae star Chronixx. Highlighting the
synergy of the artists, the single, titled
“Na Na Na” delivers a great vibe to the
angelic sound of Reggae music, allowing
fans to sing along and dance in signature
Third World form.