BY RICHARD JOHNSON—
Observer senior reporter—
The Ward Theater in downtown Kingston—
Mounting concerns and a rising price tag have been some of the issues which have delayed the completion of restoration work of the historic Ward theater located in the heart of downtown Kingston.
Despite the setbacks, mayor of the city of Kingston Councillor Senator Delroy Williams is confident that the theater which has been closed for well over a decade will reopen its doors by the end of 2020.
The mayor told the Jamaica Observer that he is pleased with the progress of the restoration work which has been named a national Labor Day project last year.
However, he noted that the sheer cost of the renovation has been the reason for the delays.
“I don’t want it to pass the end of next year. I’m really pushing for it. The rigging system will take some time to install. We are going through the procurement process now, which will take some time. It is pretty costly so there are different channels for that kind of procurement so it will take a little longer than if you were doing a $10-million or $5- million project, and it’s not that kind of money. It is far more that than. It will eventually end up with cabinet.”
The mayor shied away from revealing a dollar figure attached to the renovation of the theater which was presented as a gift to the city in 1912 by then Custos Rotulorum of Kingston, Colonel Charles Ward, and sits on a lot which has housed a theater since the 1700’s.
“I hate to speak in terms of a dollar figure so far, because it get you into a lot of trouble. But the truth is it has cost us a pretty penny and we have to say thank you to the CHASE Fund because they have come in very well. Also to the Tourism Enhancement Fund because they have also been assisting along with the Ministry of Culture, which is assisting with the air-conditioning unit. One of the reasons why it is taking so long is that a lot of the financing has to be done at the level of the KSAMC (Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation) and we don’t have the level of funding to just do it in one go, so we do it as funds are available , and see what funds can be directed towards the project. It is our building, we own it so we have a duty to maintain it and it’s a significant cultural landmark,” the mayor stated.
In its heyday The Ward was a beehive of activity and saw major performances by international acts. It also served as the venue for the launch of local political parties as well as the stage from which the likes of National Hero Marcus Garvey made some of his well-known speeches.
The Ward also became the home of the National Pantomime which opened on its stage on December 26 year year for decades. In June 2015, a concert — dubbed Opera Meets Nyahbinghi — was held during Kingston On The Edge Urban Art Festival, with a view to restore the historic theatre.
A number of Jamaica’s top classical artistes, including Jon Williams, Peter Ashbourne and Steven Woodham, shared the stage with Chilean mezzo-soprano Maria Cecilia Toledo and veteran reggae guitarist Earl “Chinna” Smith with his Inna De Yard Allstars roots ensemble. This was the last event held on the stage.
All the lighting, sound and air conditioning for the event had to be brought in. Mayor Williams explained that quite a lot of work has been done on the theater. A design competition launched to come up with a concept for the foyer of the building yielded a number of entries.
However, in the final analysis a decision was taken to incorporate aspects of a number of the designs into the final product.
“We’re kinda entering the final stage of it right now. We are now looking at the stage area. We’re still doing some tidying up within the theater itself, but that is not problematic and proceeding nicely. The stage area is setting itself up to be quite expensive. We’re taking into account the rigging system and curtains. We are pleased with the progress so far. We have done a lot of work; it’s taking longer that we thought but I mean to be honest we don’t mind because we see the progress and we know we are going to finish. Some difficulties have come and we are now passed them and it will be a blessed day for us as a city when we complete the renovation of the Ward theater and the entire space,” he said.
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