Raymond Saraceni
Anguillian playwright, Mr. Colonel Harrigan, author of several plays, as part of the performing arts in Anguilla, has gained a considerable amount of publicity for his work in an article written by Professor Raymond Saraceni of the Augustine and Culture Programme in the Centre for Liberal Education at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. He holds a PhD in drama from Tufts University.
The article, entitled: “History and the Poetics of Relation: The Early Days of Anguilla’s Colonel Harrigan”, has been published in the Spring 2018 edition of Modern Drama, a quarterly publication under the auspices of the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Toronto.
Professor Saraceni wrote in part: “Between 1977 and 1979, Anguillian playwright Colonel Harrigan composed a set of three plays that were produced by the Anguilla Cultural and Social Society, of which he was a founding member. While this work has so far escaped scholarly attention, one can situate these plays productively in the larger context of Caribbean dramatic culture, serving as they do to incubate a sense of emergent national character while also problematizing notions of identity as absolute and unequivocal.”
The professor continued: “Harrigan crafts plays that must be understood as seeking to reflect large historical processes. His dramas are usefully read within the context of Anguilla’s revolution of 1967-69, as they respond in complex ways to this particular moment in the history of Anguilla and to consequent processes of identity formation. Harrigan’s plays thus represent the sort of “creative fiction” that Kamau Brathwaite sees as a critical component of a uniquely West Indian cultural achievement.”
The ten-page analytical article examines in detail each of the plays, as well as other dramas, skits and monologues, which Mr. Harrigan, a retired Customs Officer from the Anguilla Public Service, produced over the years, and compared them favourably with the works of other Caribbean playwrights.
In his concluding paragraph, Professor Saraceni wrote: “The work of Colonel Harrigan deserves serious scholarly attention – particularly as we seek to develop a more inclusive and thorough understanding of the many voices that have shaped contemporary West Indian culture.”
The professor presented a copy of the Modern Drama booklet containing his article on Mr. Harrigan’s plays to him at the office of The Anguillian newspaper on Monday, July 16. Professor Saraceni said he had submitted his article to the University of Toronto Press where the officials were very excited about it and were interested in late 20th century and early 21st century plays which scholars were not aware of.
Mr. Harrigan said he had published nine plays so far and was in the process of doing more writing for future publications. He was grateful to Historian and Curator of Heritage Collection Museum, Mr. Colville Petty, for drawing his work to the attention of Professor Saraceni who, at the time, was on one of his regular visits to Anguilla.
“I got a call from Mr. Colville Petty who told me that a gentleman wanted to get in touch with me to discuss my plays,” Harrigan recalled. Mr. Petty gave me the gentleman’s name and telephone number. I called the number and it was Mr. Saraceni on the other end. He told me he had bought some of my plays and that, on his next visit to Anguilla, he would like to discuss some of my plays with me. When he came back, we discussed my playwright history and he said he would like to write an article and asked whether I would allow him to use my plays in that article. I told him no problem. He called me a few weeks ago saying he had good news for me, that he got the article published and would bring a copy of the publication for me. He has now done so and I am grateful to him.”
