“We see a bright future for our business as our food is high in demand locally. We have plans on expanding in the very near future, offering much more to our existing and future clients,” she said.
“You should not have to get dressed up and make a reservation to have access to restaurant quality dishes,” said Arnese. Daily menu choices at the Gourmet Seafood House include lobster, New York strip steaks, salmon and more. And the couple is dedicated to quality, consistency and being unique.
“Our customers are like family because we see most of them every other day. They are not afraid to offer us feedback or special preparations for their food and we do our best to accommodate everyone,” said Arnese. “Our customers literally love everything. We can’t keep anything in our kitchen. I would say our seafood-stuffed salmon, garlic and herb rack of lamb, beef and seafood lasagnas, and definitely our penne pastas are some of the crowd favourites.”
The culinary business, she admitted, is not for the weak, but she and her team are up to the task and love their jobs.
“Our dishes are definitely one-of-a-kind and unique because I designed all of my recipes myself. Before coming on-stream, I practiced seasoning blends and explored my creativity. What we sell can’t be found just anywhere. I wanted to ensure that the Gourmet Seafood House would stand out amongst all of our indirect competitors. Taste, quality and presentation are our number one priority. We treat every single plate that we serve like it’s the only plate that we served,” said Arnese.
02 | The Tribune | Weekend Friday, August 19, 2022 food Food has always been Arnese Roxbury’s passion, not necessarily the preparation of it. But that all changed when she and her husband, Ramond Roxbury, decided in 2020 to open their Gourmet Seafood House, a restaurant that aims to offer high-end cuisine for take-out at affordable prices.
“I’ve always enjoyed the occasional restaurant hopping in the Bahamas, I did this as a hobby. However, on a regular day when I just wanted something of good quality to eat, there were lim ited to no choices,” Arnese told Tribune Weekend of her inspiration for her unique take-out service.
A gourmet twist on the usual take-out fare
The Gourmet Seafood House is located on one of the busiest highways in eastern Nassau, on Prince Charles Drive.
“We are a takeout restaurant, however, we do offer an outside deck for those that want to dine,” added Arnese. She said their target market is business pro fessionals and of course those with a taste for gourmet food.
By
All of the food, she explained, is cooked to order, and they strive to offer well-balanced meals with protein, starch and vegetables.
ALESHA CADET | Tribune Features Writer | acadet@tribunemedia.net
“We have so many fast food places that offer similar low-end meals, yet there’s no takeout that offers high-end meals. So, we saw a gap in the market and this is how the idea of the Gourmet Seafood House (came about).”
The Bahamas’ music power couple, Wendi and Dyson Knight, are looking to match the energy and scorching temperatures of summer with their new single “Come Over Lover”.Released today, the song is intended to heat up the atmosphere wherever and when ever it’s “Coveplayed.OverLover” boasts a fusion of soca, kompa and calypso sounds accompanied by the sexy lyrics of Wendi and her husband Dyson Knight of the Baha Men. It was written and produced by Freddie “Gotsykz” Seymour and Leonardo “Sniper” Rogers - the talented team from the Baha mas whose music has won multiple awards, has charted internationally and enjoyed placement in major movies.
singlesummerforteamKnightDysonWendiandHusbandwifeandupsexy
The music video, sponsored by Bamboo Shack, is also being released today. Wendi said its setting is a back yard party at the famous Bahamian eatery.Inaddition to celebrating the release of “Come Over Lover” and promoting her previous single, ‘Tell Her Come”, Wendi is also preparing to perform at this year’s Miami Carnival, which she said will be an exciting time. “I will callyempowermentallSong.MusicPerformerandSoca2019internationalwinnerandOutstandingnee,four-timeentertainerawardedandperformancesBahamas,haserhouseempowerment,artistrybornfoursceneentrancefemalesmash,”works,rakealsodatesalbumtheannouncingbe‘Unboxed’debutverysoon.Ihaveanamazingn’scrapesonginthewhichwillbeanothershesaid.WendiistheBahamas’toprecordingartist.HerontotheBahamas’musicbeganatthetenderageofandherre-introductionwasoutofaneedforfreshnewandinnovation.Wendiaimstorepresentfemalesexappeal,powvocalsandstrength.Shebeenatrailblazingartistintheputtingondynamiclivethroughouttheislandstheregion.SheisthecurrentlythemostfemalerecordingartistandintheBahamas.SheisaBahamianIconAwardnomiBahamianIconAwardwinnerforAchievementinMusic,atwo-timeElevationAwardwithmultiplenominations.Wendihasalsomadewavesonthesceneasthe2018andwinneroftheSAOInternationalAwardforBestMusicVideothe2019winnerforFemaleSocaoftheYear.In2018,shewontheHollywoodinMediaAwardforBestDanceTheunderlyingmessageinalmostofWendi’ssongsisthatoffemaleandbeingunapologetiboldineveryaspectoflife.
Friday, August 19, 2022 The Tribune | Weekend | 03 music
“The infusion of kompa (modern dance music of Haiti) and calypso gave me sensual and sexual vibes and I instantly knew what I wanted the song to be about,” Wendi told Tribune Weekend. And once the beat was played to her, the lyrics flowed almost effortlessly. “I love the lyrics. They are sexy, but fun... grown and relatable,’ she said.
By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features jgibson@tribunemedia.netWriter
“Once you hear ‘Come Over Lover’, you will definitely want to wrap your arms around your special someone, sig nificant other, wife, husband or lover. With lots of smiles and lots of touch ing, this song is a feel-good song.”
Martha and Tanya McFall
Passionate about promoting the importance of STEM, this dynamic mother-daughter team tells Cara Hunt about the special summer camps and other initiatives they have launched to show young Bahamians first-hand just how many opportunities these disciplines can offer them.
Martha McFall and her daughter Tanya McFall Major are committed to helping Bahamian young sters realise their full potential by exposing them to the opportunities a STEM education can provide. STEM stands science, technology, engineering and mathematics. To this end, the mother-daughter duo founded the Global Conversa tions Development Centre, of which Martha is the president and Tanya is theWhileCEO.her mother is an educator, Tanya’s professional background is in communications and marketing.
The Global Comversations Centre, which started in 2013, originally served as a foreign language resource centre for students, but has now grown into a STEM resource for hundreds of Bahamian students, many of whom are from marginal isedTheycommunities.startedtheir first summer camp with students from the Farm Road Community, partnering with a local church. The focus was to expose the children to STEM educational expe riences and slowly grew thanks to a partnership with the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF). PADF implemented an innovative pilot programme to showcase and build STEM education success in the Bahamas.
04 | The Tribune | Weekend Friday, August 19, 2022
interview
MARTHA
TANYA McFall MajorMcFall
THE MONA Lisa is returned to the Lou vre in 1913, more than two years after being stolen from the museum.
April 19 weekendthishistoryin
The project had to take a hiatus due to the pandemic but is now back up and Martharunning.explained that the more they interacted with the children, the more they wanted to help them.
Similarly, she said, as the Bahamas looks to become more self-sufficient, STEM careers in agriculture will be very
The Royal Caribbean Group is another one of the partners of the programme.Thestudents are immersed throughout the programme in stimulating activities. Some of those activities include creating art from beach pollution and learning about the different layers of the sea. Using everyday liquids such as blue food colouring, vegetable oil and liquid soap, students modelled the layers of the ocean. In upcoming sessions, students can participate in a beach clean-up and listen to other experi ences from local STEM advocates.
The camps have been extremely well received, with classes attracting around 70 students a session in some of the larger camps. Students can start as early as age five, although they’ve had requests for even younger children to be able to Inattend.addition to the camp sessions, Martha and Tanya also work to train teachers in ways to implement STEM in their curriculums.
“We were also able to apply our lessons to practical applications in real time,” said Tanya. For example, she said they were apply to discuss the recent oil spill which happened off Exuma and discuss ways to minimise its impact, such as using Dawn liquid soap to clean affected Additionally,animals.theyhave also dis cussed ways drones can be used in STEM, such as in disaster recovery.
The participating students have also explored the effects of rising sea levels, and the impact rainfall has on flooding in the Bahamas.
For example, she said they will soon be partnering with a university in Texas to provide exposure to local students.Another area they want their students to explore as a future career is social entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurship is the process by which individuals, start ups and entrepreneurs develop and fund solutions that directly address social issues. A social entrepreneur, therefore, is a person who explores business opportunities that have a positive impact on their community, in society, or the world.
“When you assist children in one area, often you realise the other needs that they have. There is a saying that an empty stomach is a empty head, and so we have that passion to help them in all areas that we can. So, that may be helping them catch up in areas that they may be behind in school and providing food items. And then we provide expo sure to the opportunities in STEM,” sheMarthasaid.
Similarly, she said they also discussed climate change and the children had the opportunity to build their own remote operation vehicle (ROV), which they tested at Delaporte beach.
ROVs are often used in ocean cleanups because they can reach the ocean floor.
Friday, August 19, 2022 The Tribune | Weekend | 05
“It’s nice to see the way that they start to they think, ‘Oh, wow, I get that.’ And so if I can help more chil dren get that ‘wow’, then this is all worth it,” she said.
Tanya explained that part of their work is to expose children to the myriad of careers STEM can provide.“When people think of STEM, often they think of scientists in white coats in a lab setting, but there is much more to it. But what we are doing is teaching them critical think ing and to explore things deeper, not just at the surface.”
Programmes like this teach stu dents different, hands-on approaches that are not typically offered in schools.TheSTEM for Oceans initiative has the explicit goal of inspiring students to develop interest in becoming future engineers and scien tists, Royal Caribbean explained.
Martha added that they also want to explore tertiary STEM opportu nities so that students who want to enter careers in the field can have access to scholarships and partner ships with international universities.
noted that it is extremely rewarding to see the children begin to think critically and then apply those STEM principles in realistic and practical ways.
Looking towards the future, the mother-daughter duo hopes to tailor camps for special needs students and expand the programmes to other islands in the Bahamas.
“Thisimportant.isabillion-dollar industry we can tap into,” she said.
Tanya said one of the areas the camps explore is the role STEM can play in disaster recovery and climate change.“Forexample, one of the tasks that they had was to pretend that they were the minister responsible for disaster recovery and using STEM explain how would you help rebuild after a hurricane.”
“In its conceptualised state, The Guild was only supposed to be for the dramatic arts. Now that we’ve begun working on our inaugural theatre production, Agatha Christie’s ‘The Mousetrap,’ we have received and welcomed quite a number of artists from various industries – visual artists, classical music composers, instrumentalists, and production crew – all of whom are now officially Guild members,” she said.
“We brainstormed some ideas for our first production and realised that there is a need in the Bahamas for something fresh and exciting, so why not an internationally acclaimed murder mystery in its 70th year of production?”
“The Mousetrap” is the longest running any play in the world, having debuted in London’s West End in 1952 and running continuously until today (it was temporarily discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020).
The Guild hit on the idea for “The Mousetrap” as their debut production thanks to Allaya’s mother’s love of mystery novels.
Anewly established acting troupe seeking to offer Bahamian audiences something “fresh and exciting” will be presenting their debut production of Agatha Christie’s “The Mouse trap” on a local stage.
Written by the ‘queen of the mystery’ Agatha Christie, the play began life as a radio play, which was in turn based on a short story. The short radio play was written as a birthday present for Queen Mary, the consort of King George V, and it was broadcast on May 30, 1947 under the name “Three Blind Mice”.
MRS Boyle and Majorette Metcalf played by Suhayla Hepburn (left) and Jamell Dawkins (right)
“Certain language in the play, along with the setting, have also been altered to reflect the diver sity and whimsicality of the country while creating a more relatable experience for our audience,” explained Allaya. The production stars Allaya herself, along side Jeremie Johnson, T-Day, Suhayla Hepburn, Jamell Dawkins, Salem Cunningham, Johnathan McClain, and Devantai Sterling. A portion of the proceeds will also support Allaya as she travels to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art to pursue a world-class Bachelor’s degree in theatre and professional acting.Allages are welcome to attend The Guild’s the play. Tickets can be purchased online at Mouse trap242.Eventbrite.com and at the University of the Bahamas’ Portia Smith Building (third floor). For more information, call (242) 819-3098.
McClain)(Photos/Civad
The Guild, as the troupe is called, will put on three performances of the internationally acclaimed murder mystery play at St John’s Col lege Auditorium in Nassau, on August 20, 26 and 27, at 8pm each night.
The atmospheric murder-mystery play is a clas sic “whodunnit” with a twist ending. The original takes place in a newly established bed-and-break fast outside of London during a blizzard. There has been a murder and residents are snowed in with no phone, and everyone fits the killer’s description and has a secret. The Guild’s version of the play is set in 1950’s Nassau, at the new guesthouse of Monkswell Manor. Guests arrive seeking a respite from their daily lives, but instead their secrets are revealed after a murder occurs as the clock counts down toward the culprit’s next strike.
The Tribune | Weekend | 07
“Our community is rich with fresh talent who have no outlet for honing their skills and pro ducing their own large-scale work,” Allaya told TribuneInitiallyWeekend.designed only for actors, the troupe has now expanded to welcome artists from every field, from production to music, and the visual arts.
CHRISTOPHER Wren and Detective Trotter played by T-Day (left) and Devantai Sterling (right) SALEM Cunningham as Miss Casewell
Founded in January this year by local actress and university student Allaya Hagigal, The Guild hopes to be a troupe especially for young, aspiring actors in the Bahamas.
New local actors guild goes sleuthing in Agatha Christie classic theatre ALLAYA RalstonasHagigalMollie
Gardening in the shade liriope
Ireally enjoy the shade of a tree on a hot sittingespeciallyday,whenintrafficon the road, on a hellish tarmac covered parking lot, or waiting outside of a building because of COVID.Youmay have gath ered by now that I am loathe to the removalaverseofationindiscriminateseeminglydestrucoftreesthatweascultureseemsofondpracticing.Iamnottothenecessaryofmaturetrees that are damaged or that may be posing a liability. Trees give us shade and they are the natural, habitat creating, life giving factories that absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, yet there are cultures building structures to do just that. “Carbon capture”. Trees do that. In other words, trees are a necessary component to life as we know it. We need more trees. For those of you with a tree in the yard, or a shaded apartment or condo space, then lily turf, AKA Liriope muscari (pronounced as luh-RYE-ohpee mus-KAR-ree), is a great plant for use as a groundcover or potted specimen in the shade. Liri ope in general is an underused garden plant, in my opinion, in our region. The reason for that is that they prefer a shaded location that is a bit cooler than a location in the full sun that is usually parched, with impenetrable limestone topsoil for ground. Liriope does best in a well-drained soil that allows water to perco late through the root zone. Soil amendments are necessary for a plant like liriope, to loosen the soil and to add moisture holding capacity. Too much Black Kow manure though, for example, will lead to either too much or too little moisture retention, so be sure to only use Black Kow when mixing with native topsoil and pine bark, peat, coconut fibre or composted yard waste amendments. Liriope is one of the best plants for mass plant ing in the shade. Liriope is very well used as an ornamental plant to line sidewalks or driveways (if there is some shade available, i.e., plant a tree). If you are in a building that has a difficult to garden shaded area on the north side of the building and you are seeking an ornamental groundcover, then liriope may be the plant to fit the bill. This goes for both the green cultivars and the variegated as well. Variegated liriope is a wonderful plant to brighten up shaded areas with its white striped foliage. The variegated variety is more prone to melting in the full sun heat that we have every summer. Plant a tree. It’ll help to reduce your electric ity bill and cool your home, and it also provides a space to do some shade gardening! Who really enjoys sitting in the full sun and heat of summer, other than the tourist or the person that rarely gets the chance? What was that old saying about mad dogs and Englishmen? Snakes lay out in the full sun to warm their blood. Butterflies need it for energy to continue their lifecycle. The sunshine gives us vitamin D, but it also gives us melanoma. Gardening does not have to be confined to the sun. There are many plants that prefer the shaded garden. Liriope is just one of them. The plant that I mentioned last week (Syngonium) also enjoys the shade. Aspidistra is one that I will focus on in a future article on shade gardening. Flowers are difficult to cultivate in the shade, but there are some that will work, impatiens and other annuals that are best planted between October and May. Many herbs and soft leaf vegetable plants such as lettuce or spinach prefer some shade as well. It is almost time to start seeding tomatoes and winter crop (i.e. most) veg etables. Shade prolongs crop production lengths as well. As always, I wish you happy gardening, and also, happy shade gardening!
VARIEGATED
10 | The Tribune | Weekend Friday, August 19, 2022 gardening
THE life and legacy of one of America’s most iconic dancers will be in the spotlight during a special screening presented by ArtSea Dance. The screening will feature the film “Ailey”, a documentary about dancer, choreographer and visionary Alvin Ailey, at The Island House cinema this evening at 6.30pm. The evening will feature compli mentary wine and popcorn, and a special Q&A with ArtSea Dance faculty who will be in town for the weekend, led by ArtSea founder and professional dancer Courtney Spears.Thefaculty and panel will include Hollie Wright, a master jazz teacher and performer; Dr Sheyi Ojofeitimi, the senior physical therapist of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and Matthew Rushing, asso ciate artistic director at Ailey. “We are thrilled and honoured to be screening the film ‘Ailey’… The owners and staff at The Island House have always been so sup portive of supporting artists and different opportunities to bring art to the community. This partnership is a testament to that commitment and it is truly a pleasure and honour,” said Courtney Spears.
The Island House is also hosting two matinee showings of the film, at 4pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Friday, August 19, 2022 The Tribune | Weekend | 11 entertainment
“My biggest dream was to dance for Alvin Ailey ever since I saw the company for the first time. It was the Ailey company that reassured me of my place in the dance world. Mr Ailey’s vision changed my life and created a space where my beauty, my skin, my culture, and my background had a place to shine and be glorified. While going to school at the Ailey school, I learned how to work hard, and how to love working hard. My training at that institution has made me who I am, and I owe it every thing. When I joined the company, it took me all over the world, doing what I love most. I owe the Ailey company everything, and Mr Ailey’s vision has given me everything,” she said. For more information about the screening, contact artseadance@ gmail.com.
“This film is for everyone, whether you’re an artist or not. I’ve seen it before, and it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve personally ever seen or watched. This film gives such an up close, personal look into such an iconic man. It shows his journey, from his humble beginnings, and how his dream, his vision, made him one of, if not the most recog nised names in dance history. And how that vision was manifested into the global entity that is currently the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater,” said Courtney. Alvin Ailey was born on Janu ary 5, 1931, in Rogers, Texas. His experiences of life in the rural South inspired some of his most memorable works. He was introduced to dance in Los Angeles by performances of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, and his formal dance training began with an introduction to Lester Horton’s classes by his friend Carmen de Lavallade. Horton, the founder of one of the first racially-integrated dance companies in the United States, became a mentor for Ailey as he embarked on his professional career.
| Tribune Features Writer | jgibson@tribunemedia.net
ICONIC dancer, choreographer and visionary Alvin Ailey
ArtSea host screening of ‘inspiring’ flm showcasing an iconic dancer
By JEFFARAH GIBSON
After Horton’s death in 1953, Ailey became director of the Lester Horton Dance Theater and began to choreograph his own works. In the 1950s and 60s, Ailey performed in four Broadway shows, including “House of Flowers” and “Jamaica”. In 1958, he founded Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to carry out his vision of a company dedicated to enriching the Ameri can modern dance heritage and preserving the uniqueness of the African-American cultural experi ence. He established the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center (now The Ailey School) in 1969 and formed the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble (now Ailey II) in 1974. Throughout his lifetime, he was awarded numerous distinctions, including the Kennedy Center Honour in 1988 in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to American culture. In 2014, he post humously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor, in recognition of his contributions and commitment to civil rights and dance in America. He died on December 1, 1989. Courtney said Alvin Ailey’s story can inspire anyone to use their gifts in a way that uplifts humanity.
“Mr Ailey’s story serves as a blue print for so many others to follow after him, and it shows the power of a vision, a dream, and the work it takes to manifest. Young dancers, especially our young male dancers, need to see this film to help reassure them that their dreams and desires are real and obtainable,” she said. As a professional dancer, Courtney said she has been immensely inspired by the life of Alvin Ailey.
“You will know when you’re old when you cease to be amazed.”
The play was considered shocking for its depic tion of sexual vanity and drug use in the upper classes – but its notoriety attracted large crowds
JAMES STREATFIELD, Coward’s mentor and lover
A playwright of cheek and sophistication Part I
“My importance to the world is relatively small. On the other hand, my importance to myself is tremendous. I am all I have to work with, to suffer and to enjoy. It is not the eyes of others that I am wary of, but of my own.”
Sir Noël Coward was born on December 16, 1899 in Teddington, Middlesex, a south-western suburb of London. His parents were Arthur Sabin Coward – a piano salesman and Violet Agnes Coward – the daughter of a captain in the Royal Navy.His father lacked ambition and industry, and family finances were poor. He attended the Chapel Royal Choir School and had little formal schooling but was a voracious reader. He appeared in amateur concerts when he was seven, and his ambitious mother sent him to a dance academy in London. His first professional engagement was in January 1911 – when he was 12 – as Prince Mussel in the children’s play The Goldfish.
literary lives – Noël Coward (1899 -1973)
Sir Christopher Ondaatje mar vels at the wit, flamboyance, and sense of style of the English play wright, composer, director and singer.
“One day ... a little advertisement appeared in the Daily Mirror ... It stated that a talented boy of attractive appearance was required by a Miss Lila Field to appear in her production of an all-children play: ‘The Goldfish’. This seemed to dispose of all argument. I was a talented boy. God knows, and, when washed and smarmed down a bit, possibly attractive. There appeared to be no earthly reason why Miss Lila Field shouldn’t jump at me.” – Noël Coward Present Indicative Charles Hawtrey, London’s leading actormanager, cast Coward in the children’s play Where the Rainbow Ends in 1911 and 1912 at the Gar rick Theatre in London. He learned a lot about the theatre from him. He also appeared in An Autumn Idyll at the Savoy Theatre and in A Little Fowl Play at the London Coliseum. He made a further appearance at the Liverpool Repertory Theatre in 1913, and was cast as Slightly in Peter Pan, reappearing in Peter Pan in 1914 and again in Where the Rainbow Ends in 1915. He was much sought after and worked with other child stars including Hermione Gingold and Gertrude Lawrence, who told him a mildly dirty story and with whom he devel oped a close bond. In 1914, he became the pro tégé and lover of Philip Streatfeild, the society painter. He guesttoCowardagetuberculosisfeildfriends.andAstleyCowardintroducedtoMrsCooperhighsocietyStreatdiedofat35in1915,butcontinuedbeafrequentatMrsCooper’s Hambleton Hall estate in Rutland. He was quickly accepted into the theatri cal crowd.
– Noël Coward Coward continued to perform during the First World War: The Happy Family (1916), Charley’s Aunt (1917) and The Saving Grace, produced by Charles Hawtrey. He was conscripted into the Artist Rifles in 1918 but rejected after nine months because of a tubercular tendency. Returning to the stage he appeared in Hearts of the World, the D.W. Griffith film (1918), and began writing plays himself. He was eighteen years old and collabo rated with hs friend Esmé Wynne on the first two Ida Collaborates (1917) and Women and Whisky (1918). His first play was The Rat Trap (1918) which was eventually produced some years later at the Everyman Theatre in Hampstead in October 1926. He met Lorn McNaughton who became his private secretary – a post held for more than 40 years until her death. When Coward was 20 years old, he starred in his own play, the comedy, I’ll Leave It to You. It ran for three weeks at the New Theatre in London –his first full length West End play. Reactions were mixed. The Observer commented “... if he can overcome a tendency to smartness, he will prob ably produce a good play one of these days”. However, The Times was enthusiastic: “It is a remarkable piece of work ... spontaneous, light and always brainy”. The play ran for a month and was Coward’s first play seen in America. After that he returned to acting in other works by other writers. The Knight of the Burning Pestle ran in Birmingham and London; and then his own one-act satire The Better Half about a man’s rela tionship with two women in London.
Coward did not have much luck interesting American producers on his first journey there in 1921. But he was invigorated with the pace of Broadway and stimulated when he returned to London with The Young Idea (1923) – his first real success. It ran in London from February 1 to March 24, 1923.
– Noël Coward
12 | The Tribune | Weekend Friday, August 19, 2022
Coward achieved his first major critical and financial success as a playwright with The Vortex (1924) – a story about a nymphomaniac socialite and her cocaine addicted son (played by Coward). Many critics saw the use of drugs as a thinly veiled mask for homosexuality. Kenneth Tynan described it as a “jeremiad against narcotics with dialogue ... not so much stilted as high heeled”.
– Noël Coward The Vortex was enormously successful and invoked a great demand for Coward’s plays in both London and America. Only 26 years old, he premiered in Fallen Angels (1925), another threeact comedy that shocked audiences about two middle-aged women slowly getting drunk while waiting for their mutual lover. Hay Fever also appeared in 1925 and was the first of Coward’s plays to achieve an enduring place in London’s mainstream theatrical repertoire. The comedy, cementing Coward’s enduring style and cyni cal humour, is about four egocentric members of an artistic family who invite acquaintances to their country house for the weekend and bemuse and enrage each other’s guests. The play is still recognised as a classic, The Times describing it as a “dazzling achievement ... pure comedy with no mission but to delight, and it depends purely on the interplay of characters, not on elaborate comic machinery”.Cowardwas clever, creating his own character, and inserting it into make-believe situations where he could create cynical and humorous drama in an increasingly entertaining fashion.
Friday, August 19, 2022 The Tribune | Weekend | 13 and a move to a larger theatre in the West End.
By June 1925, Coward had four shows running concurrently in London’s West End: The Vortex, Fallen Angels, Hay Fever and On With the Dance. Demand for his plays, most of which he was acting in, was increasing. But this frantic pace caught up with him while he was performing in The Constant Nymph. He collapsed, had a nervous breakdown, and was ordered to rest for at least a month. Ignoring doctors’ orders, he sailed for the US to rehearse This Was a Man. In New York he collapsed again, this time taking an extended rest ending in Hawaii. Other Coward creations in the 1920s included Easy Virtue (1926), a drama about a divorcée’s relationship with her snobbish in-laws; The Queen Was in the Parlour (1926); This Was a Man (1926) about adulterous aristocrats; The Marquise (1927), an 18th century costume drama; Home Chat (1927), about a married woman’s fidelity; and the revues On With the Dance (1925) and This Year of Grace (1928). The last introduced one of Cow ard’s best-known songs, “A Room With a View”. Sirocco (1927) was a failure about free-love among the wealthy which starred Ivor Novello. His loyal theatre-goers hated the play causing Coward to later say: “My first instinct was to leave England imme diately, but this seemed too craven a move, and also too gratifying to my enemies whose numbers had by then swollen in our minds to practically the entire population of the British Isles.” – Noël Coward Despite this failure Coward had become one of the world’s highest earning writers with an annual income exceeding £50,000 (or more than £3,000,000 in today’s terms). He thrived during the Great Depression, writing a continuous suc cession of popular hits ranging from large-scale productions to intimate comedies. Bitter Sweet (1929) about a woman who elopes with her music teacher, and Cavalcade (1931) were examples of productions that required a large cast and even larger sets. The 1933 film adaptation of Cavalcade (1933) won the Academy Award for best picture. Coward’s smaller more intimate hits during this time included Private Lives (1930) and Design for Living (1932).
COWARD and Lilian Braithwaite in his first major hit, The Vortex (1924)
Coward had trouble finding producers and raised the money to produce the play himself. He met Jack Wilson, an American stockbroker who became his business manager and later his lover. Wilson was eventually found to have embezzled funds from his employer.
COWARD as Slightly in Peter Pan in 1913 – a breakout role
“It is discouraging how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.”
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Hume Cronyn and his wife Jessica Tandy (award-winning star of stage and screen, known best from “The Birds” and “Driving Miss Daisy”) owned Children’s Bay Cay, where they entertained the rich and famous. At a theatre in London, my wife would not believe that I knew Jessica Tandy and suggested I send her a note – which brought an invitation to the star’s dressingBabbieroom.Holt, a Canadian who had a home in Lyford Cay, built a second home on Goat Cay, where her guests included Princess Margaret and Jackie Kennedy. Staniel Cay was one of the sites for James Bond’s Thunderball as well as Disney’s Tom Hanks film “Splash”. Trans Island Airways flew the mermaid’s tail to Staniel.
In 1998, when Aileen Vincent-Barwood (1994-2022) published her book about the life she and her husband, Vincent, had enjoyed in Exuma, she could not have chosen a more appropriate title –“This Sweet Place: Island Living and Other Adventures”.Backin1783, Great and Little Exuma were settled by Loyalists and, ever since, a long list of people, famous and not-so-famous, have vis ited. Lots of them bought land and built homes; many have bought entire islands. Going back to the 1940s, as far back as I can remember, Guy Baxter owned Darby Island, Little Darby Island and a few neighbouring cays, and built himself a castle.
Twenty-first century island-owners include the Aga Khan – Bell Island (in 1936, my father sold his 1/3 interest in this cay to his friend Harold Christie for £50); Nicolas Cage –Leaf Cay, all 30 acres for sale $7½ million; David Copperfield – Musha Cay, a very private and very expensive resort; Johnny Depp – Little Hall’s Pond Cay; Eddie Murphy – Rooster Cay; Tyler Perry – White Bay Cay, and others. In her epilogue to “This Sweet Place”, Aileen wrote that “having lived on Exuma for 12 winters, I have been able, with the help of the island and its people, to develop a sense not only of the sacredness of ALL things, but of how everyone is connected – in one vast, indi visible web of life...the planet belongs to God. It is not our property to do with as we please. We are expected to return it to the Creator, in better condition than we found it.”
Sweet‘This lace PAUL ARANHAC FORGOTTEN FACTS
The surrey horse owners have been doing a pretty good job taking care of their horses and many of them are in good shape. Of all the horses present at the inspection with a vet, the Bahamas Humane Society, and the cabs board present, all horses presented, passed. That is a good thing, I am happy. The BHS single-handedly helped feed those horses for 28 months, money we could not afford, money that bought food for these animals who could not earn their keep. Don’t you think that the simple fact that we stepped up where nobody in either government did (not pointing fingers again), shouldn’t that have earned the Bahamas Humane Society some right to be part of the conversation about reintroducing these animals back to work? Having sunk over $150,000 of money we could ill afford, I would have thought we would have been consulted for advice. We were there for the surrey horses when nobody else was,
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”Good morning! My name’s Ciri (yes, like the virtual as sistant, but I’m much cuter). I’m a royal Bahamian pot cake, and I’m about seven months old. I’m going to be one of the pups available at Saturday’s Pop-Up Adop tion Event at Super Value on Cable Beach. The Bahamas Humane Society will be there from 11am to 3pm. I’m hoping not to be there quite so long as I really hope someone comes to adopt me. Will it be you? Have you been looking for the perfect paws in your life? Mine aren’t usually so muddy but we had fun tipping over the water bowl today. I’m your girl, so please do come out to meet me or call 3235138 for more information. I look forward to meeting you!” If you can’t adopt, foster. If you can’t foster, volunteer. If you can’t volunteer, do Ifnate.you can’t donate, educate! Help make a difference!
By The Bahamas Humane Society
Animal matters Kim Aranha
OFPETTHEWEEK )(PHOTO/LINDAGILLARANHA
now we are not needed, forget us? Why start them up in some inad equate, unattractive, makeshift waiting area? Why not get your act into gear, give them proper and adequate shelter, and water? Why jump into this with out a thought, a whim that needed to be satisfied, an itch that needed to be scratched?Ifsurrey horses are going to remain in Nassau, a great deal of thought needs to go into what is a desirable route for them. Get them away from noxious fumes, please! The ride charges are ridiculously low, so low that drivers feel compelled at every opportunity to break the law by overloading their surreys. The prices must go up. The load limits are ridiculous. The surrey may carry two adults and two children 14 and under. Have you ever looked at most of these American 14-year-olds, in high school, playing football? Give me a break. They are big ger than their fathers who sit crumpled next to them, sweating buckets because three people are crammed in the back seat. The rides should be charged per carriage. The load has to be lightened. The hours need to be looked at more carefully.OurPrime Minister, who I am very proud of with all of his far-reaching and forward-thinking positions on climate change, will be the first to admit that temperatures and weather have changed over the years. With this in mind, the surrey hours and restrictions need ad justing to suit the climate of today. We sit fat, dumb and happy with dino saur rules and guidelines made a long time ago when a dollar was a dollar and the weather was more temperate, and Bay Street was something to be proud of. Look, nobody is trying to deny any body the right to earn an honest living, but it cannot be at the expense of others, be they humans or animals. If the surreys are here to stay then let’s find a way for them to have better conditions, and for the drivers not to be put in such unhealthy situations. I know that the horse owners have much passion for their horses, and they are actually the ones who could demand changes that are favourable for them and their animals. Though I personally feel that 2022 is probably no longer the era for horse and buggy, for some reason every administration has supported it and the various ministers of tourism has shied away from addressing their conditions.BeforeI get attacked from anybody over my opinions on the advisability of putting the horses back on the road under the present circumstances, I would like to point out, once again, that the Bahamas Humane Society provided food for the horses during the 28 months of COVID.Iftheyare to remain an attraction, their conditions simply must improve vastly.
animals
A Pop-Up Adoption Event
The surrey horses are back. They and their hapless young drivers will be sub jected to heat and noxious fumes on the main thor oughfare of the city of Nassau. Poor old Bay Street, a rather embarrassing shadow of what she was 20 some years ago. No finger pointing here, don’t care whose fault it is, Bay Street is a disgrace. Why would we even want our tourists to see how sad and sorry it has become. Keep those visitors well west of all that disheveled ruin. The drivers are too young to care about the health of the horses, remem ber when we were young? Nothing was ever going to happen to us. We weren’t ever going to be old. Well, with all the toxins they are filling their lungs with I worry if they will ever have the pleasure of being elderly gentlemen. If nobody cares about the horses, for the love of God, doesn’t anybody care about the health of these young Bahamian men? I guess not. What a disgrace!
The return of horsessurreythe
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