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Oliver Samuels
Oliver Samuels |
Reviews
JAMAICA OBSERVER, Friday,
January 04, 2008 River Bottom: Rising tide It is really something to say that Patrick Brown's new Jamaican comedy, River Bottom, is quite possibly his best work within the last five years. With all due respect to Cutie and the Freak, Ras Noah and the Hawk and Class of '73, River Bottom - a hilarious and highly entertaining comedy bursting with humour, compassion and pain - may be the most deftly-told and important two-and-a-half hours to his credit. But, of course, the collaborative effort with director Trevor Nairne, technical crew and stage performers is what contributes most to the show's success. Oliver Samuels once again leads the cast - this time as Cappo, the spiritual leader, MP and storm whisperer of River Bottom, a poverty-stricken Jamaican district where residents try to make life without running water and electricity. Cappo, with his power, influence and wealth, abuses his "authority" as his uneducated, gullible followers turn to him for everything and hang on to his every word. He has his eyes on Pearle (Camille Davis), the community's young sweetheart, whose mother Miss Cherry (Belinda Reid) is a very progressive-minded woman who wants only the best for her daughter. Overall, Brown's play about the fictitious people of River Bottom may not speak for everyone, but their voices, their joy and their pain, should certainly speak to something in all of us. DAILY GLEANER, Tuesday, January 22, 2008
“River Bottom” A Bottomless Comedy It is quite truthful for any man to acknowledge the fact that, in order for a good theatrical production to be at its best, the playwright and director must indeed have great talent. Back in 2007, we saw a tremendous numbers of plays such as Uptown Bangarang and its second installment, Concubine? And the well-loved and popular Shebada Come to Town, which had not only us (Teens), but the entire Jamaica bursting with laughter. However, there's one play that has been a cut above the rest and is causing quite a stir not just locally, but also internationally. This is River Bottom, arguably the best that audiences have witnessed in the last five years. Directors Trevor Nairne and Patrick Brown have indeed utilised their God-given talent and have turned this play into a superb and very exciting comedic piece. This play appeals to people from all walks of life and also presents an array of characters from the fictitious River Bottom community who must deal with multiple issues as they try to make a living. River Bottom is a dirt-poor, isolated fishing and farming coastal community located in deep, deep rural Jamaica. There is no running water and rural electrification has not yet ventured here. JAMAICA OBSERVER, Sunday, December 23, 2007 By Balford Henry River Bottom - funny but true There are all sorts of interesting and intriguing stories about river bottoms in Jamaica, so it's no wonder Patrick Brown chose it as the title for his latest play, which opens at the Centerstage, New Kingston, on Boxing Day. You must have heard the caution that "if fish come from river bottom and sey shark down deh. believe him"; or stories about river maids emerging from river bottoms in the dead of night; or wonder why the hotel site at Pear Tree River Bottom in St Ann is so problem-plagued; not to mention the fact that there is actually a village called River Bottom in South Manchester. Well, the play River Bottom has nothing to do with any of these. Not even River Bottom in Manchester would relish the association. Why? Because this time Brown's stereotypes may well enrage some rural folks, although it is reassuring that he's actually being honest. Oliver Samuels' return to Centerstage for this latest Jambiz production reasserts his position as the country's leading comic actor; although he admits that it has been a real challenge. "It is about how one man is able to have total control over the minds of the people of an entire village because of technology," Samuels pointed out. He plays Capo, (no disrespect to Mallica Reynolds), who is the only man in River Bottom with electricity and, by extension, a radio. This gives him a link to the outside world which baffles the ignorant, illiterate people of the village. "He is the obeah man, the village lawyer, the don, the MP: every source of power rolled into one, and he controls the minds of the people by some very clever means," Samuels noted. |
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