The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

THE LEGEND of Sammie Swain has been resurrected. For the past few months organisers pulled out all the stops to turn the 40 year old folk opera into a contemporary production.

Pulling back the curtains on the Legend of Sammie Swain was momentous for producers, given the long journey it took to get the play on stage.

Last week, theatre goers were thoroughly satisfied by the re-staging of the play; the lively production had them engaged from start to finish.

The Bahamian folk opera was written by former cultural activist Clement Bethel. Its last major staging was almost two decades ago.

“It tells the story of a disabled Cat Island man who falls in love with the village beauty. Sammie Swain’s love for the village beauty is not returned and in response to his marriage proposal she tells him she will “never marry no cripple”.

A distraught Sammie Swain sells his soul to the devil in revenge and dies in the process. His ghost, a reincarnated Sammie Swain, is beautiful and able-bodied, yet invisible to the villagers. He haunts the village and drives Belinda over the edge.”

“I loved the play and all of the songs. Someday they will go in the front of the whole world to perform. That is what I want,” said young Sytarra Hamilton, who attended the event with other members of the Indaba Project after school programme, a community-based organisation.

The musical component was one of the most important aspects of the production because it has passed down through generations. Several of the songs have become entrenched in Bahamian tradition.

Adrian Archer is the musical director of Sammie Swain and worked consistently to ensure the musicians and performers communicated the feeling Clement Bethel intended when he first composed the music. Mr Archer said the play’s re-staging surpassed all of his expectations.

“The first two nights went really well and the crowd has been really receptive. The cast has also done a great job. I think once we get on the stage and you have a crowd, that puts another element to things other than the rehearsal. I think it went really well and I am very happy with what they have done,” said Mr Archer.

“Sammie Swain has not been seen in 28 years and so a whole generation has never seen it. There are some people who are seeing it for the first time and those who have seen it before, think it is so brand new,” he told Tribune Entertainment.

Dr Mildred Hall Watson believes Sammie Swain teaches a cultural lesson and should be seen by all.

“I have heard about it before but I have not actually seen the play. I am so pleased that I got a chance to see the play and how it depicts our culture in such a beautiful and way. I think it is something that most Bahamians should come and have an opportunity to see. I think it is going to be very enlightening for the children who get to come out and see it. I imagine when they get home, there is going to be a lot of questions for parents,” she said.

“The wake scene is something we do not really see anymore. And the scene about spirits, and obeah draws back on some of  the many things we heard years ago. So I say well done,” she said.  

Virginia Hall-Campbell added: “For me the play gets an A in every department. Broadway has nothing on us. We enjoyed every aspect of the show. I congratulate Nicolette Bethel and her brother heartily for doing it and we will support them. We are hungry for this type of activity, and we want to be involved in the culture of our nation. We want to keep it alive, not just for us, but for generations to come. I say to them congratulations.”

Additional showings of Sammie Swain are slated for: October 11 at 8pm and October 12 at 2pm.