MOSAIC 62 – Women of our time . . . on whose shoulders we stand

City Hall Theatre, Tuesday

A thoroughly Bermudian production, Women of our time . . . on whose shoulders we stand, the 62nd "mosaic", devised and presented by Ruth Thomas & Company, made for a fine tribute to the island and its people both in terms of its content and its performance.

As a celebration of what has been achieved over the past 400 years since the island's first settlement in 1609, with the emphasis being on the contribution made by women in this particular presentation, it was all the more gratifying to see it realised by an impressive all-Bermuda cast.

Women of our time . . . on whose shoulders we stand is the latest in a series of "mosaics" devised by Ruth Thomas & Company and with it they make their second Bermuda Festival appearance.

Written and directed by doyenne of Bermuda culture, Miss Thomas, in collaboration with leading choreographer Conchita Ming, this "mosaic", like its predecessors, offers a kaleidoscope view of the many colourful, interwoven elements of the island's history and culture through a montage of dance, drama and the spoken word.

At its core and holding the whole together are Miss Thomas, also an accomplished actress, and her three fellow presenters, Gary Phillips, Leo Mills and Grace Rawlins, who constitute the company.

Over the course of a near unbroken two-hour show the team drew on a rich pot of historical fact and anecdote. Rather than overwhelm or bamboozle their audience with this wide range of material the cast, through spirited interaction, interplay and comic banter, held viewers enthralled and through some masterfully managed continuity avoided the risk of fragmentation.

The spoken word was punctuated beautifully and in timely fashion by dance which constituted five main components spanning Bermuda's history right up to the present day.

In keeping with the production's title, the pieces Mrs. Ming chose to include from her existing repertory and those created especially for it focused on the role women have played in Bermuda's social, political and cultural development.

She paid tribute to those individuals, groups and organisations which have helped shape the island, acknowledging and emphasising through the medium of movement their strengths, struggles and successes. In complementary fashion to the spoken word, it added texture and dynamism and nowhere more so than in A Woman Named Prince performed by Shaydrina Hassell as Mary Prince in step with Grace Rawlins' narration from the slave girl's autobiography.

The other dances included Remember the Circle of the Sky performed by Sierra Renae Robinson which tells the story of the Indian princess, wife of Chief Metacom of the Wampanoag tribe in New England, who was sold into slavery in Bermuda with her son for 30 shillings.

Bermuda Tapestry, danced by Shomeiko Ingham, recounts the well-known story of another female slave, Sarah (Sally) Bassett, who was accused of poisoning her master and was burned at the stake in 1730.

Another form of prejudice and exclusion faced by women was highlighted in On the Same Terms as Granted to Men performed by Rowan Vickers, Brittany Legere Adams and Reilly Kuebler which portrayed the Bermuda Women's Suffrage Society and the battle for the ballot.

Serving as the show's finale and bringing us right up to date was On Whose Shoulders We Stand danced by Kiara Somner before a montage of pictures of some of Bermuda's most influential women of the 20th century.

This was a painterly presentation in terms of costuming and execution. Some expressive choreography was embraced by a company of secure dancers whose individual performances, portraying a wide range of historical figures, were well drawn.

It was also a pleasure to enjoy some pure modern dance in the Martha Gaham vein. This was not some confused choreographic fusion. There was a choreographic motif common to all pieces but creativity in staging allowed for variation in its expression.

Women throughout our history have been "a quiet force for progress", said Miss Thomas as the performance drew to a close. The company continued with a general call to the current generation to continue to be "agents for change". We were certainly not short of inspiration to do so.