While cricket fans gear up for what is being touted as the one hundredth anniversary of Cup Match, local playwright and theatre director Patricia Pogson is putting the finishing touches to her latest production, 'Stickin' to de Wicket'.

The 90-minute play, with a cast of 13, was commissioned by the Department of Cultural Affairs and reflects, in part, its continuing wish to mark the observance of Emancipation Day in a meaningful way, just as Bermudians did on August 1, 1834 when the abolition of slavery took effect here.

Cultural Affairs Officer Mrs. Heather Whalen said: "This year I wanted to show the link between Cup Match and emancipation, as well as to reflect on what the slaves were being emancipated from: degradation, cruelty and bondage, so I asked Miss Pogson to write a play incorporating those two ideas because a play is a great way of conveying information to people in an entertaining way."

For her part, Miss Pogson says she was "honoured" to accept the commission, but while she did considerable research on the project, it was not as extensive as she would have liked due to time constraints.

In any case, Mrs. Whalen says that 2001 is not the one hundredth anniversary of Cup Match.

"Based on Miss Pogson's and my research, the first Cup Match was actually played in June, 1902 but they talked about the idea of a Cup Match in 1901, so that is where the idea came from to bring these two (observances) together, because when the slaves were first freed they had no money or material possessions, and Friendly Societies and Lodges were established to provide for their needs," she explained.

"It was these same societies that began organising annual observances of the 1834 emancipation of slaves. Originally, they took the form of church services and parades, which later led to sporting activities - people coming together for picnics and sporting events like cricket - and finally the idea of an annual Cup Match between both ends of the Island evolved. 'So widespread did the practice of taking unauthorised time off work to attend both days become that in the early 1950s Government officially declared the two-day match a public holiday."

'Stickin' to de Wicket,' an ensemble production spanning 1834 to the present, is about how one family sees the importance of relating history through the story of the griot (storyteller). The lead characters are a grandmother, played by Denniqua Burrows, and her 11-year-old grandson, played by Rajai Denbrook. The other characters play different roles by exchanging costumes and props.

"The grandmother has kept pictures of her family celebrating Cup Match over the years, and she feels it is important that her grandson understands why the first day of Cup Match is important," Miss Pogson said. "Interwoven with this is the story of the third main character, Mary Prince, played by Shawnette Griffith. Mary was one of the few slaves who actually got the right to tell the story of her bondage. The play depicts the cruelty because, for the longest while there was this myth that slavery in Bermuda was benign, but just like everywhere else, it was cruel and there were atrocities." The play opens with Emancipation Day on August 1, 1834, and the Salvation Army divisional band will set the tone for what the playwright thinks the original celebration was probably like. "There was a march, people carried banners, and there were church services all over the Island which black people attended," she said. "From there we move into how this particular day came to the celebrated as Cup Match." Because the subject is so powerful and emotive, Miss Pogson has used artistic licence to add a little humour, and the production will be further enhanced by a variety of music, some recorded, and some sung or chanted by the cast. As we go through the periods you will hear African music, jazz and calypso, and the finale is a soca piece about Cup Match written by George Allen and Robert Edwards." As Mary Prince, Shawnette Griffith finds her role deeply affecting, so much so that she is often in tears during rehearsals.

"Before this, I knew nothing about Mary Prince, but when I read the role it was just amazing to learn what she went through in her life from the age of 12. It really touched me, and I am very glad to have this knowledge because it shows me how far we have come in Bermuda due to the struggles of our ancestors," she said. "Every rehearsal is emotionally draining, but it is a real pleasure to have the role, which I take very seriously." Like Miss Griffith, Miss Pogson says she too has had her eyes opened by what she learned through research, and out of it have emerged several ideas.

"I had not really begun to delve into Bermuda history," she says. "I could tell you about African or African-American history, but it wasn't until I became involved in this project that I felt the need to start developing a theatre company that tells the African-Bermudian history, which I think is a piece that is seriously missing from our culture." To that end, she has suggested that Cultural Affairs should have its own theatre company dealing specifically with Bermuda history. Similarly, Miss Pogson feels that the real story of slavery in Bermuda should be part of the school curriculum. "That would allow researchers to do the work, and playwrights to have time to study and develop pieces. That is the challenge for the writers in our community -T to write these stories and include them in our curricula so that our children will know Bermuda's full history," she says. "I really believe that in order for us as a people to move forward and respect each other we need to know our complete history. When you are talking about this sort of work, it is a full-time job. The seriousness of the arts has to be looked at."

'Stickin' to de Wicket' will be performed in the Town Square, St. George's on July 31 at 7.30 p.m. Admission is free. Limited seating will be provided, but the public is advised to bring their own.