Sunshine Theatre’s Playwright, Felix Fleming, has produced a master-piece of theatrical art in the staging of the play ‘The Caged Bird’.
The premier staging took place on Friday night, December 1st, at the Morris Vanterpool Primary School and was repeated on Saturday night, December 2nd. Another repeat presentation will take place again on Friday, December 8th and Saturday, December 9th at 7:30 p.m. at the same venue.
Hosted by the Gender Affairs Unit, in collaboration with Malliouhana Fest, the play is featured as part of the 2023 Sixteen Days of Activism from November 25th to December 10th.
The main objective of the play is to bring awareness to Gender-Based Violence through the arts, allowing both young and old the opportunity to engage with the theatre art-form while being sensitized to violence in spousal relationships. The use of theatre allows the audience to be exposed to the serious repercussions of domestic violence in an environment of awareness and understanding.
‘The Caged Bird’ depicts the impact of violence on families and communities. The play explores the message that silence and inaction on the part of the subject of the violence is not an option. Rather, the play reveals that silence and inaction is an affirmation for the perpetrator that all is well and there is no need to desist from his brutish acts.
The Playwright himself, Mr. Felix Fleming, was actually commissioned by the Gender Affairs Unit to write and direct this theatrical piece. ‘“The Cage Bird’ in particular, means a lot to me,” Mr. Fleming said. “When I left Anguilla in 1958 and migrated to St. Thomas, I left with domestic violence happening behind me in Anguilla. When I came back in 1989, I discovered that domestic abuse was more pervasive than ever before.”
He said that he knew of a particular horrific death that occurred not long after he returned home, and since it happened so tragically in Anguilla, he felt just as if it happened to him. He said, “A case like that is what has influenced this play.”
Gender Affairs Unit Director, Ms. Kemoloy Murphy, said: “We have been sharing the information about this play in all circles. And we are hoping that victims can see it as something that they can attend and identify with.”
She said that because we do have that culture of silence, it is not easy to identify victims of domestic abuse, although we may know persons who are directly affected by it, due to the services that the Department provides.
“However, we are not saying that the play is only for victims or survivors or even perpetrators,” she said, “but we do want everyone to see this play because each of us in society has a role to play and we have a responsibility in our perception of the scourge of domestic violence.”
The staging of ‘The Caged Bird’ is sponsored by PAHO, the Anguilla Community Foundation, and the Gender Affairs Unit in collaboration with Malliouhana Fest.
