I was told that Lilliput Theatre was the leading Children's Theatre Company in Trinidad and Tobago, however after their 2011 presentation of "The Changing of the Guard" at Queen's Hall, I came to realise that there was nothing childish about the theatre that they produce. I attended their opening night on Friday May 20th, only to be overwhelmed by bountiful talent from children between the ages of three and 18. 'The Changing of the Guard' took a metaphorical look at the game of life. It was directly compared to a deck of cards. In life you are dealt a hand and in order to win, analysis is paramount and wisdom is necessary to change tactics in compromising situations. The entire play revolves around the timeless tale of Alice in Wonderland.
The theme itself was very mature; however the performance was executed flawlessly. The deck of cards was primarily played by the younger children and the audience were well entertained as they 'shuffled', 'cut' and 'dealt' across the stage to upbeat music. The older teens focused more on the storyline and delivered a series of monologues as each of them took turns playing the main character Alice. 'Sing a song of sixpence' was a song that was overused, and abused in this play. However it was done for good reason. It was used for the characters to express their opinions on the social, political and economic situation in Trinidad and Tobago. This was done against the backdrop of drums and the surreal setting of Alice in Wonderland.
Lilliput Theatre is now celebrating 35 years of existence being lead by founder, artistic director, producer and choreographer, Noble Douglas. Wendell Manwarren has stood as director and tutor for the past 15 years. He said, "The Changing of the Guard deals with the whole theme of change, capturing it in digestible pieces for young people. That is why I went with Alice in Wonderland, since it deals with change." The cast for the show consisted of 150 children. I had the opportunity of sitting with four of the older teens for a brief
interview after the show. Alex Fraser, Emily Aboud, Mariama Noguera- Devers and Lifa Morean had an outstanding performance that night, and each of them felt very accomplished.
When asked what they had learnt about life from this production Emily quickly stated, "Money is the root of all evil." One of the things highlighted in the play was that greed and ignorance can collapse a deck of cards much like in the game of life. All four of them made it clear that theatre is their passion; however,­­­­­­ they do not see it as a full time career. "People are not into theatre as they may be into movies" said Alex. He then insisted that theatre would always be a part of him, but he does not see himself doing it full time. When it comes to encouraging youths to take part in theatre, even though they may not have taken that first step, Lifa made sure to leave with us her favourite quote and personal motto by Helen Keller - "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do."
