Street Performance and Performance in the Street
By, Dr. Tara Inniss, Department
of History and Philosophy , Cave Hill Campus, UWI
William Shakespeare once wrote,
“All the world’s a stage.” Well, Bridgetown was certainly a stage. The
streetscape was a creative space in which informal performances were an
important part of the entertainment scene in Bridgetown. Street performers were
a common sight in Bridgetown with visitors often reporting the musical talents
of Barbadians who used improvised instruments to make music and sing.
Many Barbadian popular Barbadian
musicians can trace their origins to Bridgetown. Jackie Opel (1938-1970) was born in Chapman Lane and spent much of
his time as a youth in the Nelson Street area listening to jazz ad his idol,
Jackie Wilson. He later went on to develop the popular Barbadian artform,
Spouge, which was heavily influenced by calypso and ska. Together with the
Troubadours, they made spouge famous throughout the region. On March 9, 1970,
Opel lost his life in a tragic car accident on Bay Street.[1]
Other musicians, such as the
Merrymen’s Emil Straker, grew up in the folk music traditions of the town hearing
classic folk songs and melodies being played at gatherings of family and
friends. Before radio and television became a dominant form of home
entertainment, middle-class Barbadians would visit one another on weekends to
exchange the week’s news and sometimes engage in some light musical fare. It
was also very common to see village communities involved singing competitions
amongst choral groups.
Such traditions of informal
gatherings were rooted in the city’s working class past where the streets
hosted brams and dances and strolling musicians. After emancipation, many
visitors commented on gatherings such as the Joan (or Joe) and Johnny dances
held in Roebuck Street and Collymore Rock. Brams were held in Cheapside. More
illicit activities such as cockfights and gambling were also popular in the residential
districts of the city, such as Rebitt’s Land in the Nelson Street area. St.
Ambrose Church, constructed in 1846, coincidentally was built right on top of
the cockfighting ground. Later, after the nearby General Hospital was built,
the Hospital’s Board of Directors complained about hearing the “banja,” tambourines
and flutes being played from behind the hospital’s walls which disturbed
patients.[2]
Such music was regularly performed in the street at all hours and there were
several measures put in place to limit their performance with some reports that
policemen chased them off Broad Street.[3]
Various forms of masquerade were
also performed, usually around Crop Over in the rural districts, such as stilt
walking; Mother Sally, Bank Holiday Bear or Shaggy Bear, etc. Variations on
these forms of masquerade can be found throughout the Caribbean and demonstrate
a direct cultural link to African forms of masquerade. Eventually, these forms
of masquerade became the traditional costumes associated with Crop Over
performance and Barbadian cultural performance. For more information on the
origins of Barbadian masquerade, visit Clothes
Tell Stories about the Barbados Museum and Historical Society’s 2012
exhibition, “Leaves to Beads: 100 Years of Costume Design.”
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[2] Director’s Minutes
(1889-1892), General Hospital. 1 Aug. 1889. HOSP 1/3 Barbados Department of
Archives.
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