JavaScript is disabled in your web browser or browser is too old to support JavaScript. Today almost all web pages contain JavaScript, a scripting programming language that runs on visitor's web browser. It makes web pages functional for specific purposes and if disabled for some reason, the content or the functionality of the web page can be limited or unavailable.

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Tribute to the Storytellers brings curtain down on Season of Anansi

by

22 days ago
20250617

D es­cribed as a bumper two months of sweep­ing art, fun, re­flec­tion, in­tro­spec­tion, ed­u­ca­tion, his­to­ry, con­nec­tion, and re­con­nec­tion, the third an­nu­al Sea­son of Anan­si Folk­lore Na­tion­al Fes­ti­val cul­mi­nat­ed on June 5 with a very emo­tion­al cer­e­mo­ny, Trib­ute to the Sto­ry­tellers.

At the Lit­tle Carib The­atre, Wood­brook, host Rubadiri Vic­tor took pa­trons through the his­to­ry of sto­ry­telling glob­al­ly to the present day, spot­light­ing the re­sis­tance to slav­ery, in­den­ture­ship, and colo­nial­ism that fu­elled Caribbean cul­tur­al tra­di­tions. There were al­so live and record­ed trib­utes to ho­n­ourees from friends, fam­i­ly, and schol­ars.

The high­light was the ho­n­our­ing of icon­ic el­der­ly and younger sto­ry­tellers Paul Keens-Dou­glas and Aun­tie Thea (Theodo­ra Ulerie), who re­ceived works of art re­flect­ing them through time done by Ran­dall Wat­t­ley. Rap­so artiste Broth­er Book (Hol­lis Pe­ters) was ho­n­oured posthu­mous­ly while Roger Alex­is and Ro’Dey (Rodell Cum­ber­batch) were al­so ho­n­oured.

Pop­u­lar­ly known in­ter­na­tion­al­ly as Mr Tim Tim, Keens-Dou­glas cel­e­brates his gold­en ju­bilee as a sto­ry­teller this year. He was al­so ho­n­oured for be­ing one of the most piv­otal artists the Caribbean has ever pro­duced.

Aun­tie Thea has kept West African and Caribbean sto­ry­telling tra­di­tions alive for decades.

Broth­er Book was re­mem­bered for his du­ti­ful com­mit­ment to the East Port-of-Spain and his po­ems Mes­sage to the Young In­tel­lec­tu­al and The Lit­tle Boy From The Shack.

Alex­is is known for his ir­rev­er­ent pup­pet se­ries San­tana, and Ro’Dey, who was ab­sent, for his pi­o­neer­ing work in trans­lat­ing stage comedic rou­tines in­to bril­liant filmed sketch com­e­dy, many times por­tray­ing the char­ac­ters him­self.

Keens-Dou­glas re­cit­ed Pan Rap, Aun­tie Thea told of Anan­si and the Sun God and Alex­is re­flect­ed on the ori­gins of San­tana.

Oth­er high­lights of the fes­ti­val, which was launched on April 16, were a Na­tion­al Book­store Read­ing Tour; a three-week in­ter­na­tion­al mul­ti-me­dia ex­hi­bi­tion, and The Black In­fi­nite: The Rise of Afro-Fu­tur­ism that end­ed on June 7. A play, Anan­si and the 10 Drag­ons, was al­so staged at Queen’s Hall by the Wire Bend Folk­lore The­atre.


Related articles

Sponsored

Weather

PORT OF SPAIN WEATHER

Sponsored