Tanty at the Oval

TANTI AT THE OVAL

Paul Keens-Douglas, a Trinidadian-born playwright, has grown to be a prominent voice of entertainment within the Caribbean. He is nothing short of talented and in his piece, ‘Tanti at the Oval’, he certainly displays his crafty edge. The story was both written and narrated by KeensDouglas himself. ‘Tanti at the Oval’ is based on an encounter the narrator had with his aunt who goes by the name of Merle. It describes an eventful day in which Tanti Merle had the opportunity to see her home team, St. Vincent, as a part of the Combined Islands, play against Trinidad in a cricket match. Keens-Douglas shared how humiliated he felt as he endured the company of Tanti Merle and all of her ritualistic obsessions. This piece was not written solely for entertainment and laughter, but key issues such as, patriotism, generation gaps, the importance of cricket as a unifying force and the use of humor by Caribbean playwrights, lie beneath the surface. These will be explored in depth as this paper progresses. Despite the fact that ‘Tanti at the Oval’ was composed in 1992, it is still tremendously applicable for contemporary social commentary in the Caribbean, as it explores timeless issues. According to George Bernard “1Patriotism is, fundamentally, a conviction that a particular country is the best in the world because you were born in it.” Standing out in this piece is Tanti Merle’s extreme patriotic spirit, and it brings to mind the fact that in our lives today, as Caribbean people, we are so engrossed in foreign affairs that we forget to teach our children what is true pride; the true pride of a being a Caribbean girl or boy. Tanti Merle is the epitome of a proud national, or maybe it has little to do with patriotism. Many sociologists claim that within the larger islands, there resounds a culture of condescension with respect to the smaller islands. Maybe, throughout Tanti Merle’s stay in Trinidad, she learnt that there is a lack of recognition of her home...