22480: (Arthur) Review of RAM's Vodou Nation (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Tttnhm@aol.com

Vodou Nation
The Stage : http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php?sid=2680
Vodou Nation at the West Yorkshire Playhouse

composed by: Richard Morse, also lyrics
management: West Yorkshire Playhouse and UK Arts Productions
cast: includes Dieuvela Etienne, Lunise, Ram, Daniel Brevil, Menahem Laurent
director: Geraldine Connor and Brett Bailey, also design
design: Brett Bailey
run time: 1hr 40mins


A new musical using songs from RAM, the renowned Haitian Vodou Rock group, is
sure to do well. When the members of RAM are onstage playing their throbbing
rhythms then success is as certain as day following night.

Vodou Nation is instructive and illuminating and is played with a fiery,
almost celebratory eloquence. It tells how colonisation and corruption ravaged
Haiti, the first independent black-led nation, almost to the point of
destruction. Yet the final notes are of hope, defiance and joy.

Brett Bailey's large-scale design gives the production artistic authority and
a rich authenticity. Video images on a huge screen vary from painful realism
to imaginative splendour. The costumes and lighting effects are stunning.

LUNISE and Richard Morse, the RAM head singer and also known as RAM, dominate
the vocals. RAM's Vodou Rock songs, with blues and western influences, will
enthuse fans and any newcomers to their music. LUNISE takes the pivotal role of
Anakaona, the spirit of Haiti. Dressed in hooped body stocking she thrills
and excites.

Dievela Etienne's playing of an aged, crook-backed Vodou priestess is an
important element in the narrative's episodes. Vodou Nation does much to correct
negative western notions of Haiti's religion. The collective purpose of the
other cast members, each playing and dancing two or more roles, is quite
remarkable. Their movements are sinewy grace and pulsating energy.

The white smocked RAM musicians are onstage throughout but they are not
simply accompanying the action - as much as the players, they are this musical.

Kevin Berry