Bajan in 5 blog

N.B: The views expressed in this piece are solely those of the Bajan in 5 blog

Cultural venues

There is no doubt that Barbados has many talented and gifted musicians, actors and actresses. It is also true that over the years there has been an improvement in the quality of venues on the island. Facilities such as the Frank Collymore Hall, the Wildey Gymnasium and the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination come to mind.

Even with the development of such facilities there has been a continuous cry from some in the cultural community that the cost of renting such locations is cost prohibitive (either due to total cost or the fact the facility is too large for the production in mind). As a result, shows such as Laff-it-Off and Pampalam are generally held in school halls. This situation brings forward two areas of concern. First, the viewing comfort of the audience is diminished. Most school halls in Barbados only have provision for seating to be located at one level. The ensuing result is that the further back a patron is seated, the worse their view of the performances would be. If variables such as sitting directly behind a tall individual are included, the less than ideal situation diminishes even further. The patron because of the quality of the production might still enjoy the show but that enjoyment could have been further enhanced if the production was held in a facility with multi-tired stadium seating such as the Frank Collymore Hall.

The second concern is that of comfort of both patrons and performers. Most of the aforementioned school halls are not air-conditioned; as such both patrons and performers at times have to contend with extremely hot and humid conditions. In addition some bathroom facilities for patrons are less than ideal while performers would be faced with situations such as the absence of proper dressing and rehearsal rooms.

For many years there has been a lot of discussion about building and or renovating adequate and affordable cultural facilities in Barbados. Unfortunately it has for the most part been just that….discussion. This year’s Laff-it-Off production in its title sums it up nicely “Talk Cheap”….when you add that with the Bajan saying “I don’t pay taxes for my mouth” it becomes pretty obvious that it may be many more years the public of Barbados has to listen to what at the end of the day equates to empty promises.