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Shameka Walters (right) played Dame Nita Barrow during the production of Mirror Mirror, Show Me a Hero.

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Saran Lashley, Shea Best and Jabari Browne on their journey of self discovery.

Epic journey well-received

‘Mirror Mirror, Show Me a Hero’ musical officially begins

 

THE Frank Collymore Hall became a virtual time tunnel on Thursday night during the first showing of Mirror, Mirror, Show Me a Hero, an original piece of musical theatre dedicated to the memory of Barbados’ first female Governor General Her Excellency, Dame Ruth Nita Barrow.
The first of nine shows, featured a young and talented cast who took the audience which included Prime Minister the Right Honourable Freundel Stuart and members of the Barrow family, on a journey of self-discovery with three reluctant heroes.
 
Director Alison Sealy-Smith noted that the epic journey which was written by Shakirah Bourne blends history with imagination, and explores topics such as the pervasive nature of historical privilege, the scourge of unbridled consumerism, the changing face of cultural imperialism, the tensions between national cultural identity and technological, interconnected global reality. “But it is, first and foremost, a Bajan story.”
 
Set in the year 2016, the audience was given a disturbing look into life in Barbados 100 years into the future, where the sterilisation of minds and loss of everything Barbadian was perpetuated by the influence of a foreign being. The physical and mental slavery of the 18th and 19th centuries eerily mirrored the technological bondage and control portrayed in the year 2116.
 
Utilising cutting edge digital technology as a backdrop, the audience was visually transported into the past with impressive costume changes which seamlessly captured the essence of the characters and time period being portrayed.
 
By the end of the night, the audience was given a glimpse into the life not only of the then Nita Barrow, they also heard from her brother and Father of Independence the Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow, Sir Garfield Sobers, the indomitable Rachel Pringle,  and Nanny Grigg as she learned of the death of freedom fighter Bussa. They also learned of the work of National Hero Sarah Ann Gill, got a taste of the Barbados Landship and saw life on a slave plantation, to name a few.
 
In addition to the spectacular visual backdrop, the vocal range of the cast should be commended as they kept the audience smiling with their unexpected yet surprisingly fitting depiction of a specific theme and time period. These include traditional Row Row Nanny, to Methodist Hymn And Can it Be, or original Sankofa song by Stefan Walcott to this year’s Bashment Soca favourite Tek Off Something by Stiffy, making up a total of 23 musical pieces that were all well -received.
 
Showings at the Frank Collymore Hall will continue today, November 19 at 8:00 p.m; November 22, 23, 24 – 1:00 p.m and November 24, 25, 26 – 8:00 p.m.

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