 |
| |||
|  (photo: krm) | |||
| Mavis Lee Wah: Eulogy by David Sammy Our journey begins in Jamaica. We see the evolution of the eager teenager at St.Andrews High School to the teacher in Montego Bay who took part in the drama activities of the town to the confident undergraduate at the University College of the West Indies in Mona. Victor Edwards, actor /playwright/writer in his book the Secondary Schools Drama Association Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, writes about her early days: "Mavis Arscott was outstanding as president of the Dramatic Society at the University College in Jamaica between 1952-1954. She was one of the chief guides in the formative years of the society. Her administrative skills apart and she was an outstanding actress."James Lee Wah, her classmate in Jamaica, writes in our 1999 brochure of the production Mavis Lee Wah and Friends: "At UWI as a member of the University Players she was rubbing shoulders with some actors and drama people who were destined to become leading dramatists in the Caribbean - people like Errol Hill, Slade Hopkinson, Derek Walcott, Ronnie Llanos, Mary Brathwaite, Cynthia Wilson".Mr.Lee Wah, always the visionary, on his return to Trinidad, was instrumental in organising a job for Ms. Arscott at Naparima Girls High School. She came, he proposed, they got married and settled in Trinidad in 1957; an example of free movement of labour without CSME. They had three wonderful children in Kathleen, Sharon and brother David. At High School she rose through the ranks from teacher to principal, helping to create the ethos that distinguishes Naparima Girls. Again, Mr.Lee Wah says of his wife: “Her work with young people at Naparima Girls High School has received great acclaim. People still remember her productions of Odales Choice, Sleepy Valley, Riding Haas and Diary of Anne Frank, as well as operettas and musicals like Viva Mexico, School and Crossbones, South Pacific and My Fair Lady.”As an actress working with the Drama Guild, she had lead roles in Bell Book and Candle, Playboy of the Western World, Juno and the Paycock, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. She produced costumes for Twelfth Night. She also worked with the Trinidad Theatre Workshops productions of Derek Walcott's The last Carnival and The Charlatan, which was taken to her native Jamaica. Walcott in being interviewed said .. "she was one of the finest actresses in the Caribbean". In another chapter of her acting career Mr.Lee Wah formed the San Fernando Theatre Workshop in 1976 and immediately cast Mavis as Amanda Wingfield in the Glass Menagerie. She was brilliant and loved by the critics. In 1982 she won a National Drama Association acting award for her portrayal of Grace in A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg. Other memorable performances were as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest and Queen Elizabeth in Dark Lady of the Sonnets for the reopening of the Naparima Bowl. Having had the privilege to work with Mrs. Lee Wah, I observed her process. She was always well prepared as an actress knowing her lines, props in place and her special quality, the ability to analyse a character and then to reveal this truth on stage. Her technical strengths lay in her mastery of speech and the nuances of expression. Rhoma Spencer actress/producer now resident in Canada, remarked in 1999 that she was the only true classical actress in Trinidad. This masquerade in the theatre was just another string to her bow. In speaking to Kathleen, she described her mummy as a woman of God who was active as a church member. When they lived at Bryans Gate in Phillipine, she conducted bible study classes and was an elder, at the Canaan Presbyterian church. When they moved and worshipped at Balmain Presbyterian she was afforded the title of honorary elder. Mrs. Lee Wah also taught the art of story telling in the Vacation Training Programme for Sunday school teachers of the Presbyterian Church. These classes were held on a Saturday at St.Andrews Theological College. After retirement the Lee Wahs decided to make a change which was long in planning. They had lived at Christian Street with his brother George, opposite that other thespian Ralph Maraj, re-located to Phillipine outside of San Fernando for many years, but then in 1996 they decided to go to Tortuga in the Central Range. This was not an easy adjustment for the family or our drama group. There were heavy ramps, numerous flats, yards of cloth, tons of books, myriad works of art and sculpture, precious photographs and fragile pieces of antique furniture. Mrs. Lee Wah managed the move. People asked me “they gone where, why they gone up there it so far?” Twenty two minutes from San Fernando. But that was a selfish sentiment of separation from an admiring citizenry who lamented the loss of this famous family to the vastness of the Central Range. Mrs.Lee Wah the homemaker persevered making the house a home with the help of her daughters, while Mr.Lee Wah cutlass in hand cleared the jungle, tilled the soil and planted crops like Noah Brebnor in Belle Fanto. There were some challenges like the large caiman lazily basking on the bank of the pond in the back then quickly feasting on the tilapia; or the six foot macajuel in languid repose stretched out on the top of the couch having just journeyed from the adjacent forest as Mrs.Lee Wah dusted and cleaned. She took these things in stride as she entertained friends and family in her new dwelling with the warmth and sincerity that marked her existence. She enjoyed cooking always trying new recipes with local things, so that while everyone else was buying kale because it was fashionable foreign fare, she served patchoi leaves as salad. Sharon said her mother was loving and generous, her husband found her to be caring, concerned, a loving wife and mother. Kathleen reminisced that mummy called everyone dear and for those who knew you could hear her say “ yes my dear” with a tinge of Jamaican and you felt special. This was her life the story of a dedicated brilliant woman, self-effacing, versatile and adaptable. She never complained about ill health or family tragedies, but rather focused her attention on those around her sustained by her deep belief. In parting, I have selected a poem which I think captures her philosophy about her journey: Crossing the Bar Mavis' academic accomplishments were memorialized in a separate eulogy by the principal of Naparima Girls High School. | |
