“Tanti at the Oval” – a True Contemporary Social Commentary on the Caribbean?

“Tanti at the Oval” – A True Contemporary Social Commentary on the Caribbean?

The piece entitled “Tanti at the Oval” and performed by Mr. Paul Keens-Douglas, a Trinidadian comedian, centers around his trip to a cricket stadium to watch a match between the Combined Islands and Trinidad with his wife’s aunt from St. Vincent, Tanti Merle, who is celebrating her sixty-fifth birthday in Trinidad. It is unknown to me whether this piece is fictional or not, though I suspect it may have been pulled from the vivid imagination of Mr. Keens-Douglas, an illustrious Caribbean playwright and performer. Despite this, I found this piece to be very entertaining and engaging, and chock-full of unique Caribbean humor. However, while I found that this piece touches on various shared aspects of Caribbean culture, I am of the opinion that it is not applicable for use as a contemporary social commentary on the entire Caribbean.

I do admit that many portions of this piece I ascertained to accurately portray various shared cultural facets common throughout the Caribbean. For example, the love of sports, especially cricket, the sport used in this piece, is an integral constituent of the culture of most, if not all Caribbean islands. Cricket is the common thread weaving the Caribbean together; some might say it is the “only true West Indian thing…belonging equally to all…the West Indies…”.¹ This truth was clearly illustrated in “Tanti at the Oval”, as Mr. Keens Douglas stated, “Thank God the cricket so hot…so we settle down to watch the match.”, indicating that cricket has such a hold on the Caribbean populace that it has the ability to halt an argument before it even begins. For West Indians, the anticipation of a cricket match is second only to the match itself, as Mr. Keens-Douglas so aptly describes, “Islands have runs to make, Trinidad have wickets to take. Tension in de place like steel. If Islands win, they get the shield.”. Mr. Keens-Douglas also spoke of Tanti...