This dissertation examines the development of a black theater aesthetic in Jamaica as the colony prepared for independence. I define my theory of myalisation to explain how middle class theatre audiences participated in the Afro-Jamaican religious rituals of the lower class and how their participation signaled the development of a Jamaican national consciousness. I examine the lives and theatrical works of three Jamaican women artists (Una Marson, Enid Chevannes, and Ivy Baxter) in order to demonstrate the role of women in the creation of a Jamaican national identity. I reveal how Afro-Jamaican religious rituals are gendered and how women's participation in these rituals was perceived by colonial officials as a sign of rebellion, erotic pleasure, and proof of insanity. I unpack how artists Una Marson, Enid Chevannes, and Ivy Baxter critiqued these gendered stereotypes and challenged other troublesome discourses around gender through performance. Playwright Una Marson's Pocomania written in 1938 serves as the inspiration for and model of my theory of myalisation. Marson's play exposes the life of a middle class woman who has an intense longing for connection with her African identity. She finds solace by participating in Revival meetings, but is condemned by her family. Marson eloquently shows the conflict between the middle and the lower class as well as rival belief systems at work. Her play actually performs aspects of Revival ritual on stage and inculcates her middle class audiences into ritual participation. Marson's play marks the beginning of the process of myalisation as middle class audiences will over time become more and more accustomed to witnessing and experiencing the Jamaican rituals practiced by the lower classes. Playwright Enid Chevannes continues the process of myalisation in the 1950s through the performance of her plays where the practices of obeah, nine night, and visions from ancestors are represented. Choreographer Ivy Baxter embodied many popular political ideas of the 1950s through the performances of her Ivy Baxter Creative Dance Group. She also explores the power of ritual by having dancers replicate Revival ritual on stage. I reveal how these performances helped create and define a Jamaican theatre aesthetic.

Last modified

• 08/14/2018

Creator

• Karima Atiya Robinson

DOI

• https://doi.org/10.21985/N28M6G

Subject

• Theatre and Drama

Keyword

• Jamaica
• Ritual
• Caribbean Studies
• Gender Studies
• Theatre

Date created

• 2007-06-01

Resource type

• Dissertation

Rights statement

• In Copyright