The Haitian Trilogy: Plays: Henri Christophe, Drums and Colours, and The Haytian Earth (9 page)

And pain, like joy, is sensual; so to feel happy, Vastey,

Is nothing; it is to chew half

Of our globe and spit truth out in morsels,

Those bitter truths that choke the craw of hopes.

I have no regret, and happiness?

Well, end the sermon.

The drums have stopped.

They are here.

The light, strengthen the light,

I will not die in the dark.

VASTEY

It is almost morning.

Tomorrow has no comfort; we must wage war against the dark

In all of us, and make our chaos light.

Regret, King, time …

(
CHRISTOPHE
laughs loudly,
VASTEY
signals quiet.
)

CHRISTOPHE

Regret, and your knees knocking?

(
His laughter dies.
)

That silence. Why have they stopped? They are here.

I can hear them, Vastey.

(
His gun is drawn.
)

VASTEY
(
Tense, whispering
)

But you cannot tell where—

CHRISTOPHE
(
Bewildered and angry
)

Yes, yes, I can tell …

VASTEY

How near are they?

(
A resounding crash, like glass, then silence.
)

What was that now?

CHRISTOPHE

The Hall of Mirrors.

If I could move …

(
He forces himself half upright facing the direction of the noise.
VASTEY
,
behind him, retreats slowly, until he is out of sight.
CHRISTOPHE
,
unaware that he is alone, is speaking half to himself.
)

Do not regret, Vastey.

But why do they stop playing? You say it will soon be morning …

Why do they stop? Vastey?

(
He turns around.
)

Vastey …

(
He sinks in the chair, beaten, but alert, muttering, watching the skull and the incense in the foreground.
)

I am not without pity, but pity comes tardily, and fits

Raggedly around my crimes. Besides, I think,

In honesty, I am rather sorrier

For myself than all those things I did.

I cannot ripen compunction by rosaries

Or pray to Damballa, or broken gods.

(
A scream.
VASTEY
is taken.
CHRISTOPHE
hardly listens.
)

History, breaking the stalk she grew herself,

Kills us like flies, wings torn, held up to light,

Burning biographies like rubbish.

(
He addresses the skull.
)

Skull, when your smile wore flesh around its teeth,

Time like a pulse was knocking in the eyelid,

The worm was mining in the bone for metal.

What shall I leave?

I am alone … this anonymous skull?

What shall I?… A half-charred name?

No. A king’s memory, or oblivion.

(
The drums rise, and he struggles to his feet, shouting to be heard.
)

Tell Pétion I leave him this dark monarchy,

The graves of children, and years of silence …

(
His voice breaks with laughter and despair.
)

And after that …

Oblivion and silence.

(
The drums reach their pitch, and when they stop suddenly, he shudders at the silence and puts the pistol slowly to his head as … the curtain falls.
)

DRUMS AND COLOURS

Drums and Colours
was produced in the Botanical Gardens, Port of Spain, Trinidad, on April 25, 1958. It was commissioned to mark the opening of the first West Indies Federation. The play was directed by Noel Vaz and Dagmar Butt. Costumes were designed by Motley. Lighting by John Robertson.

The cast was as follows:

CHORUS
—
Leonard St. Hill

EMMANUEL MANO
—
Errol Jones

POMPEY
—
James King

YETTE
—
Jean Herbert

RAM
—
Freddie Kissoon

GENERAL YU
—
Mills Olivier

LAS CASAS
—
Reginald Carter

BOBADILLA
—
Errol Protain

QUADRADO
—
Michael Wickers

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
—
Hugh Butt

FERNANDO
—
Robert Head

BARTOLOME
—
Peter Pitts

GARCÍA
—
Conrad Gonzalez

YOUNG PACO
—
Charles Blakeman

BROKER
—
Vernon Gomez

BROKER’S NEPHEW
—
George Prichett

PACO
—
Easton Lee

JEW
—
Peter Ireson

MERCHANT
—
Henri Perrin

SPANISH WOMEN
—
Yolande Achong, Pat Cansfield, Gene Miles, Mavis Roodal

FIRST SPANISH SAILOR
—
Abraham Chami

SECOND SPANISH SAILOR
—
Asaad Sabeeney

MALE SLAVE
—
William Webb

FEMALE SLAVE
—
Eunice Bruno

AFRICAN KING
—
Horace Burgess

PACO AS AN OLD MAN
—
Ronald Williams

YOUNG RALEIGH
—
Peter Donnegan

HUMPHREY GILBERT
—
Arthur Webb

SIR WALTER RALEIGH
—
Anthony Selman

LAURENCE KEYMIS
—
William Stevenson

DE BERRIO
—
Sydney Hill

RALEIGH’S SON
—
Peter Minshall

ENGLISH SAILORS
—
Robert Head, George Prichett

BARBADIAN WINE STEWARD
—
Horace James

PRIEST
—
Errol Protain

EXECUTIONER
—
Joe Hatem

GENERAL LECLERC
—
Tom Burley

PAULINE LECLERC
—
Rhona Angel

GENERAL DE ROUVRAY
—
Pip Angel

MADAME DE ROUVRAY
—
Nancy Richards

ARMAND CALIXTE-BREDA
—
Ronald Llanos

ANTON CALIXTE
—
Desmond Rostant

TOUSSAINT L’OVERTURE
—
Neville Hall

LIEUTENANT FOUJADE
—
Peter Ireson

BOUKMANN
—
Jeff Henry

DESSALINES
—
Errol Hill

CHRISTOPHE
—
Lloyd Stanford

HAITIAN SOLDIER
—
Geoffrey Biddeau

DEACON SALE
—
A. L. Jolly

AARON
—
Winston Gay

ELIJAH
—
Bertrand Henry

BRITISH SERGEANT
—
Victor Hogg

GEORGE WILLIAM GORDON
—
Errol Protain

CAPTAIN
—
James Draper

CALICO
—
Peter Pitts

Author’s Note

In one or two instances, for purposes of thematic cohesion, I have rearranged dates and incidents, but the general pattern of discovery, conquest, exploitation, rebellion, and constitutional advancement has been followed. The play, fully performed, runs well over three hours; however, the scenes are so arranged that interested producers can excise shorter, self-contained plays from the main work, for example, the story of Paco, the El Dorado theme in the Raleigh scenes, the betrayal of Toussaint, the relationship with M. Calixte-Breda (in which the young Anton becomes the central figure), and the escapades of Pompey. I have made a few alterations and several cuts from the acting script.

D.W.

Trinidad, 1960

CAST OF PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS

CHORUS
,
a Carnival figure

EMMANUEL MANO
,
a masquerader, leader of a Carnival band

POMPEY
,
a masquerader in Mano’s band

YETTE
,
a masquerader in Mano’s band

RAM
,
a masquerader in Mano’s band

GENERAL YU
,
a masquerader in Mano’s band

LAS CASAS
,
a Spanish cleric

BOBADILLA
,
governor of Santo Domingo

QUADRADO
,
a conquistador

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

FERNANDO
,
a Spanish sailor

BARTOLOME
,
a Spanish sailor

GARCÍA
,
a Spanish sailor

YOUNG PACO
,
an Indian boy

PACO
,
an Indian

A JEW
,
emigrant to the New World

A SLAVE

A FEMALE SLAVE

YOUNG RALEIGH

YOUNG GILBERT

SIR WALTER RALEIGH
,
English adventurer

SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT
,
English adventurer

LAURENCE KEYMIS
,
officer of Raleigh’s expedition

DE BERRIO
,
Spanish governor of Trinidad

WINE STEWARD
,
a Barbadian house slave

GENERAL LECLERC
,
French commander in Haiti

PAULINE LECLERC
,
his wife

GENERAL DE ROUVRAY
,
a French general

CALIXTE-BREDA
,
a plantation owner

ANTON CALIXTE
,
his illegitimate son

TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE
,
Calixte-Breda’s coachman, then liberator of Haiti

BOUKMANN
,
a slave

HENRI CHRISTOPHE
,
a Haitian general

JEAN JACQUES DESSALINES
,
a Haitian general

DEACON SALE
,
a Jamaican cleric

GEORGE WILLIAM GORDON
,
a Jamaican

Also,
SPANISH WOMEN, SLAVES, SAILORS, SOLDIERS

PROLOGUE

The stage is set with a centrepiece of regimental and African drums, with the flags of Britain, France, Spain, and Holland. In the background, a central balcony with steps leading up to it from either side of the stage. A distant bugle and drum roll, then faint sounds of carnival music. The lights come up.

Enter
YETTE, RAM, YU, POMPEY
,
running, led by
MANO
.

They rummage among set properties and dress.

MANO

Ram, Pompey, Yette, Yu, like I hear them coming.

I got a plan, boys, we going change round the carnival.

They bound to pass this alley, like I hear them approaching.

Position yourself, we going ambush this road march!

(
Enter
CARNIVAL MASKERS
:
dancing.
)

MANO

Arawaks, Ashanti, Conquistadors!

Give them the bugle, Pomps!

We changing the march now to “War and Rebellion”!

(
POMPEY
blows bugle: quiet. The
CROWD
objects. Shouts.
)

VOICE

Ain’t that Pompey the shoemaker?

POMPEY

Is Pompey the warrior starting from today,

And I want all you listen to what I go’ say.

(
Climbing on a barrel.
)

This confusion going change to a serious play!

(
Shouts, etc.
)

YETTE

If anyone contradict what General Pompey said,

A bullet from this musket, Pomps, go ahead.

POMPEY
(
Singing.
)

Now you men of every creed and class,

We know you is brothers when you playing Mass,

White dance with black, black with Indian,

But long time, it was Rebellion.

No matter what you colour now is steel and drums,

We jumping together with open arms,

But if you listen now, you going see

The painful birth of democracy.

For in them days it was …

CROWD
(
Singing and dancing.
)

Bend the angle on them is to blow them down, is to blow them down.

Bend the angle on them is to blow them down, is to blow them down,

When the bayonet charge is the rod of correction,

Shout it everyone: when the bayonet charge

Is the rod of correction, till rebellion!

MANO

All you get the idea, so le’ we get organise now.