The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport continues to remain mum on repairs planned for the National Cultural Centre (NCC), with longstanding personalities in the fine arts having to rely on what they hear through the ‘grapevine.’ Just recently, seasoned playwright and theatre director Ron Hollingsworth had to cancel his show, ‘Till ah Find a Place’ because of the deplorable state of the NCC.
Hollingsworth and his team were ready to put on the show once again this year towards the ending of July, but after seeing the problems with the sound and lighting at the facility, he decided to postpone the show.
The ministry told him that once repair works are done, he would get first preference when it comes to setting a new date for the show. Although the word around was sometime in October, Hollingsworth told Kiskadee Watch on Sunday that he has not heard back from the ministry up to now.
As it is, his show remains in limbo, although he came to Guyana from Texas where he is residing for the sole purpose of putting on the show. “They feel like I live abroad and I have nothing to lose…but I spend a lot of money to travel home and do these productions,” Hollingsworth shared, adding, “I don’t think for the past 10 years… I don’t really get any returns on it; I’m hoping to get some returns on it because in the past I used to.”
Although this is what he loves to do, Hollingsworth said it is costing him. “To come home and then the NCC is in that position; I would not have come home other than that. It’s a loss to me,” he expressed. “When I saw what was going on at the cultural centre with the sound and the lighting and the heat, I already knew that that play cannot go on there.”
He said the actors love the play and are waiting to be able to perform it at some point. If the ministry does come through with its October timings, Hollingsworth said he will not be able to return to Guyana due to circumstances and will have to enlist the help of others in Guyana to do the show.
Junior minister Steven Jacobs had announced last May 22 on his Facebook page that plans for rehabilitation of the NCC are advancing, but veteran users of the facility have shared that they are in the dark and that the ministry does not communicate with them, even as some of them have shows coming up at the venue.
They often have to depend on ‘word on the street,’ private producer Gem Madhoo told Kiskadee Watch recently as she noted that the last she heard was that authorities would have been closing the facility for repairs at the end of last May. The ministry then reportedly said the works will begin in September.
She noted that the NCC has fallen into a state of disrepair with major upgrades needed to its lighting and sound systems, washrooms, and both the interior and exterior of the building.
She reflected on the time a stage manager’s desk existed that once allowed actors to wait comfortably for their cues.
According to Madhoo, because of the poor state of the lighting system, she has had to rent additional equipment, including lavalier lights for actors, resulting in an added production cost for her. In lamenting the shortage of microphones, she explained how in the past they would have benefited from 15 to 20 microphones positioned on and around the stage, compared to the three or four that they have now. She further reminisced on the days the centre had slide projection capabilities that could create scenic backdrops such as clouds or sunsets, all of which are no longer available.
Another producer, who has been using the NCC for years, shared on condition of anonymity that the NCC was once among the finest facilities of its kind in the Caribbean but that it has become an eyesore compared with its former appearance.
The source contended that the Culture Ministry has been micromanaging the operations of the facility. Whereas a manager previously oversaw operations, the source said that the ministry is now closely involved in the administration of the venue and in determining who is granted access to use it.
Another source, who also wished to remain anonymous, spoke about the challenges since changes were made to the backstage area, stating that a section previously used by performers to wait before going on stage had been partitioned to create a VIP room. The space had traditionally accommodated actors awaiting their cues, particularly during productions involving large casts of 40 to 50 people. With the area no longer available, performers are now forced to crowd into the remaining backstage space.
The source further said that the room was constructed ahead of a visit by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was used briefly before the dignitary delivered a speech. Since then, the room has remained locked and inaccessible.
Minister Jacobs had shared a brief message on his Facebook page that said he and substantive minister Charles Ramson, along with project consultants and other technical personnel, “conducted a comprehensive walkthrough of the NCC as the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport advances plans for the rehabilitation and enhancement of the facility.”
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