Love Games - play or be played
Published: Tuesday | August 14, 2007

Tennesia Malcolm, Gleaner Writer

Glen Campbell and Camille Davis in a scene from Patrick Brown's 'Love Games'.

A full house sat down at Centerstage theatre, on Sunday, July 29, to witness Patrick Brown breaching the players' code, breaking all the rules with an intimate portrayal of the 'game'.

His new play is called Love Games but it is really about playing and being played; and if we absolutely have to involve the word love, then it's about the love of the game.

The comedic content Brown's latest effort lacks nothing in comedic content, in fact, it's downright hilarious. It's a universal look at the player, though in Jamaican settings; and for those of you who thought players were only men, then think again.
The women hold their own in this one. Six playlets over two and a half hours come together to tell the story of Love Games. From the opening 'Selling Games', involving a businessman and a 'businessperson', the cast of Glen Campbell, Camille Davis, Courtney Wilson and Maria Walters had the audience eating out of their hands. Through the second to final playlets, 'Head Games', 'Con Games', 'Mixed-up Games', 'Deadly Games' and 'The Final Game' - the laughter showed no sign of abating, rather intensifying.

Love Games hit so close to home that there could hardly have been a soul in the house who could not identify with or relate to at least one of the characters. From the two-timing Rasta to the parsimonious older spouse and the manipulative Moya, all offer an air of familiarity that has come to be a Brown trademark.

Playwright Brown delivers solid comedic punches without hitting below the belt. And where the dialogue borders on risqué, it serves only to enhance the message, so much so that upper St. Andrew housewives, who at times sat absolutely scandalised, could not help having fun. The revue has no time to be boring or predictable as it portrays not one set of characters, but six in different scenarios, so the playing game is well represented.

And the characters are as diverse as the scenarios in which they have been cast. Directed by Brown and Trevor Nairne, the cast not only delivers within the scenes but also step out to engage the audience, offering their specific reasons for being in the game, some for the love of money or because, as in Trish's case, the love of 'man'.

Patrick Brown and Jambiz have another hit on their hands with Love Games. Not only is it hilarious, but it is refreshingly real. And it's always fun to make light of a potentially explosive situation, as all the playlets, in their own way, turned out to be. Every soul in that theatre thoroughly enjoyed the production, and that includes the 'duppy' who was instrumental in the playing out of 'The Final Game'.

Courtney Wilson and Maria Walters. - Contributed Photos