A NOTE ON JEANNE THOMPSON

BY HEATHER THOMPSON

My first introduction to theatre was through my sister, Jeanne I. Thompson, when at the tender age of 13, I played the part of a young girl in her one act play, “Bread Oil & Standard”. Jeanne has had a habit of corralling family members to assist her in the production of her work, whether as actor, critic, stage hand, assistant director or publicist and for the most part we have enjoyed the experience. It has to be said that when she asked me to write this foreword I was somewhat bewildered by her choice but flattered nonetheless. I fell in line readily enough, taking up my role (of the “baby” sister who is accustomed to acquiescing to the wishes of my older siblings), with alacrity.

I grew up with my sister’s plays and in re-reading them; I have been impressed afresh by her understanding of the Bahamian psyche and vernacular. The characters in the plays are well drawn, you have a sense of their dispositions and predilections immediately, and although the plays are one-acts you can trace their development as the action progresses. Despite this knowledge of the characters, Zeke’s callous betrayal of his “first” family in Father’s Day when his drug dealing son Cyril is killed, still has the ability to surprise. The writer’s skills are demonstrated well by the range of the three plays which comprise this collection written over three decades, the 1970’s to the 1990’s.

I have never seen a production of Jeanne’s play, “Vicious Circle”; it was rated “R” at the time that it was first produced as I was too young to attend the performances, however, the text is familiar as I tested my sister, Sherry, who originated the role of the Neighbour, on her lines. It is of historical interest that “Vicious Circle” was inspired by the same case of matricide which motivated Winston Saunders to write his seminal work, “You Can Lead A Horse to Water”. Jeanne defended the young murderer with the assistance of Winston, her law student at the time. Both “Vicious Circle” and “Father’s Day” have been described as “raw”. The description is accurate but we cannot deny that Jeanne’s work as a lawyer, practising both criminal and family law in the courts of The Bahamas, allows her to paint a true to life picture of our society showcasing its misogyny, domestic violence, materialism, homophobia, religiosity and the malevolent influence of drug culture. Yet, the picture is not one sided, the characters demonstrate family love, brother for sister in “Vicious Circle” and mother for children in “Father’s Day” although they do not always verbalize it.

Jeanne considers “Father’s Day” her best work to date and I would agree with that assessment. It is fast paced and although it is as enlightening a social commentary as “Vicious Circle, it is less shocking as it is interspersed with humour throughout. We rejoice with relief at the end of the play, when all of the women in his life turn the tables on the chronic player, Zeke, better known as Tiger. Typical of Jeanne, the women are not treated as martyrs because to a lesser or greater extent they are complicit in Zeke’s bad behaviour and its inevitable consequences.

The element of humour is even more obvious in the imaginative satire, “Columbus’s Landing” which attributes modern concepts of feminism to the Lucayan wife, Lenqua in contrast to the more traditional virtues espoused by her companion, Etta. The Lucayan men bear a striking resemblance to the stereotype of the modern Bahamian man: they are waited on hand and foot by their women and spend their days lounging and smoking while the women hunt and gather food. Through the Narrator Jeanne pokes fun at our celebration of Columbus’s landfall in the New World.

The three plays are written in the Bahamian patois, Jeanne was one of the first Bahamian writers to use the local dialect at a time when its usage was frowned upon at the local radio station, ZNS and in our schools and this has undoubtedly endeared her to Bahamian audiences. Jeanne has a sure feel for the rhythm of the language which never sounds stilted.

In writing this foreword I have been startled and saddened by how little Bahamian society has changed over the last five decades. However, I am grateful to Jeanne for continuing to hold our noses to the window so that we are forced to sniff the stench which has now become too difficult to hide. It is with great pride in my big sister that I encourage you to read these works and as you do, to laugh, cry discuss and think of solutions so that we do not remain trapped in a vicious circle.

JEANNE THOMPSON
began writing plays when she was about 8 years old. At that time she penned plays based on religious festivals for her music teacher, the late Lillian Weir, who taught Sunday School at Wesley Methodist Church. Her interest in drama was further cultivated by the works of the late Fr John Taylor whose plays were produced by the Government High School Old Scholars Association and the late Margaret McDonald.

At Wolmer’s Girls’ School in Kingston Jamaica, she was fascinated by the way the drama teacher, Mrs Greta Lyons ‘jamaicanised’ such Broadway shows  as “My Fair Lady”. This served as her impetus to begin writing again, a stimulus further amplified by her participation in a workshop in drama Mrs Lyons led for the Extra Mural Department of the University of the West Indies in Nassau.

The first of the works coming out of this period was “The Decision”, which play won the playwriting award at the Arts Festival in the mid 1960s. There followed “Bread, Oil and Standard”, “ Vicious Circle”, “The Prodigal’s Brother” “Columbus Landing” and “Father’s Day” among others. All found enthusiastic reception in theatrical circles and among audiences.