Having formed the intention sometime to attempt a little play on our Mission work of Fernando Poo, I began to read and gather material, and found no lack of distinctive interest. There is the cocoa-farming, for instance, and the education struggle, and the ministry to the polyglot indentured labourers by means of the quaint Kroo-English. From the first, however, it was the historical line which fascinated me, particularly the persistence of the vision of extension to the West Coast, of which the recent advance into Okpoto is the latest fruit. But this seemed a big thing to present dramatically in a single short play. I decided at last, to attempt its presentation in five key episodes. This meant, to my regret, putting aside a good deal of material of characteristic interest, and also leaving out much of the story of noble and fruitful labour on the Island itself, particularly in respect of later years. But having chosen my theme it was necessary to be economically faithful to it. I hope this will explain what might appear to be a failure to do justice to work accomplished in Fernando Poo during the last thirty years. The full story of the Island toil and achievement is not told here, but some exposition of what our Nigerian triumphs owe to the Island initiators is attempted.
To the facts of the history I have been at pains to be as just as possible. Clarke and Prince did visit Jericho under the circumstances narrated, and Merrick and his wife did accompany them on their return to Fernando Poo, together with a number of native families. The details in Scene II follow closely the records and the evidence of the historic letters. Scene III. takes a little liberty with the accounts given by Henry Roe, for sake of dramatic effectiveness, as Mr. Burnett appears to have “tarried by the stuff” at the beach until later in the day. Thus I have but given him his Biblical portion! The dialogue in Scene IV. is of course entirely imaginary, but the facts are according to the history, and Mr. Fairley has kindly read the MS. and passed it for publication. For the final scene I have drawn on some personal letters from my friend, Mr. Norcross.
The whole play is of sufficient length to provide an evening’s programme, and fairly full directions are given for the sake of those who want to do it thoroughly. But matters of costume and scenery can be quite simply devised, and if necessary one or two scenes can be abridged for shorter performance, though this should be judiciously done. Those who have attempted previous plays will know how to “make-up” the black characters. The use of old black stocking-tops, jerseys, etc. , reduces the necessary use of grease-paint or burnt cork to the minimum.
The parts are best suited to young people of 16 or 17 and upwards. There are opportunities of good acting in some of the characters. Care should be taken not to burlesque the honouree native characters in Scene III. The speech is quaint, but the emotions are sacred. A portrait of Capt. Robinson appeared in the Liverpool Conference Handbook; others -as of Mamma Job and T.R. Prince- may be found in some of our missionary publications (e.g. Rev. N. Boocock’s Our Fernandian Missions).
The musical prologues should be practised well; the intoned verses need clear enunciation and should not be hurried, keeping time and rhythm with the accompaniment. They are intended for a small choir, a selected portion (or a strong solo voice) taking the recitative, the rest supplying the softly-hummed accompaniment. The first programmes, giving the scene settings, is again recommended. Otherwise, a brief introductory talk explaining the historical scheme is desirable.
My grateful acknowledgements are due to a number of generous helpers -to the Rev. R. W. Burnett (the infant of Scene III) for the loan of valuable books, now out of print, by Henry Roe, some Baptist Missionary publications, the first volume of our Missionary Records, etc. and for much information; to the Rev. Fairley for the use of his scrap-books and other useful help; to the Rev. W. H. Collins, who generously handed over to me all his notebooks, and to whom I am chiefly indebted for the “principles” of Kroo-English; and once again to my ever-responsive friend Clement Gerrard for revising the musical pages.
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