On Friday a bunch of us went to see Da Wedding Scamma. If I were to write a review, I would fail miserably. That is because while I was thoroughly entertained, I could not understand a lot of it. The patois was extremely fast and it was LOUD, so it was difficult to follow the dialogue. However, one could ascertain the basic plot, which was about a young man who was scamming a couple about to get married. Shenanigans, hijinks and misunderstandings ensue. The audience went crazy, especially for Shebada, otherwise known as Keith Ramsay, a roots actor who has starred in many plays and some controversies. Shebada is infamous for his provocative act- he is sort of a modern-day gadfly who prods Jamaican society to examine its attitudes towards sexuality and gender. Indeed, Shebada states ‘mi deh pon the border line’. In person, in the play, he was riveting. Every movement is interesting and he has the most expressive face. He also broke character many times (all the actors did) to engage with the audience. The audience was also almost as entertaining as the play. In terms of enthusiasm and interaction, they must put any other audience to shame across the world. People were literally screaming, yelling, slapping the wall and the chairs, punching the air and their neighbours, falling on the floor, pushing their neighbour off their chair and heckling the characters the entire time. It was awesome. 

Last night, a bunch of us went to dinner at a restaurant hidden behind an industrial yard. While this is not remarkable, I’m writing about it because we were among just a few brave souls who ventured out into the weather. The Jamaica Meteorological Office had issued a Tropical Storm Warning, and as a result, a whole bunch of events were cancelled. The rain fell late in the day. And it was heavy. So was the thunder and lightning, which kept illuminating the entire sky to reveal a deep purple colour. While we were eating, we had to move as the rain snuck past the tarps overhead. The live band prevailed, though, and they played some lovely jazzy reggae-style songs. It was a gorgeous night listening to both this music and the heavy rain with good friends and food. The storm kept up most of the night- torrential rains and thunder so loud I was convinced there was an explosion somewhere. But I woke up this morning and all was well and I was even able to run.