Wikipedia

Daphne Joseph-Hackett

Daphne Joseph-Hackett (also known as Miss Hackett 1915–1988) was a Bajan teacher, actor and theatre producer. Her contributions to the development of the arts in Barbados were recognized with the Order of Barbados's Silver Service Star. The annual award given at the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts and the Queen's Park Theatre, were renamed in her honor.

Daphne Joseph-Hackett
1972
Born1915 (1915)
Barbados
Died1988 (aged 72–73)
Barbados
NationalityBajan
Other namesDaphne Hackett
Occupation(s)educator, actor, theatre producer

Biography edit

Daphne Joseph-Hackett was born in 1915 in Barbados.[1] Training as a teacher, she began her career teaching in Grenada. After eleven years, she returned to Barbados.[2] She taught Latin at Queen's College in Bridgetown.[1] In the 1940s, the British Council established regional offices to sponsor theatre workshops. Hackett worked with these groups, as well as later with the extramural department of the University College of the West Indies, once it was established, as a producer and organizer of these workshops.[3] She was instrumental in bringing Bajan Creole to the stage, as at the time, local dialect was forbidden in public productions. When one of her students forgot the lines in a rehearsal and improvised using the local dialect, Hackett approached the headmistress and was granted approval to use Creole.[4]

In the early 1960, Hackett joined with Andrea Gollop-Greenidge, Elombe Mottley, Angela Owen, Mike Owen, Icil Phillips and Monica Procope to form the Barbados National Theatre Workshop.[5] In 1966, she co-founded, with Jamaican Noel Vaz, the theatrical productions of the Barbados Festival Choir.[3] Writing pantomimes and staging the productions for the Festival Choir,[1] she acted as the business manager of the organisation,[6] taking them on tours to other Caribbean countries, such as Dominica and Guyana.[7][8] As an actress, she performed in The Brathwaites of Black Rock, a local serial,[1] carried on Radio Barbados. Hackett was awarded the Silver Service Star of the Order of Barbados in 1985, after having served over thirty years in developing theatre in the country.[9]

Death and legacy edit

Joseph-Hackett died in 1988 in Barbados. In 1991, the Queen's Park Theatre was renamed in her honor.[9] The theatre closed in 2005, but was renovated and reopened in 2017.[10] Annually, during the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts, the top honor in dramatic performance is given the Daphne Joseph-Hackett Award For Excellence in Drama.[9]

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b c d Banham et al. 1994, p. 156.
  2. ^ Fraser 1990, p. 94.
  3. ^ a b Banham 1995, p. 77.
  4. ^ Stafford 2005, p. 110.
  5. ^ Stafford 2005, p. 111.
  6. ^ The Advocate News 1972.
  7. ^ Guyana Graphic 1972, p. 2.
  8. ^ The Star 1967, p. 15.
  9. ^ a b c Clarke 2014.
  10. ^ Nation News 2017.

Bibliography edit

  • Banham, Martin (1995). The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-521-43437-9.
  • Banham, Martin; Hill, Errol; Woodyard, George; Piccard, Bertrand; Obafemi, Olu, eds. (1994). "Joseph-Hackett, Daphne (1915-1988)". The Cambridge Guide to African and Caribbean Theatre. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-521-41139-4.
  • Clarke, Sherrylyn (26 February 2014). "Black History Month: Daphne Joseph-Hackett". Fontabelle, Saint Michael, Barbados: Nation News. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  • Fraser, Henry (1990). A-Z of Barbadian Heritage. Kingston, Jamaica: Heinemann Publishers (Caribbean). ISBN 978-976-605-098-6.
  • Stafford, Patricia (2005). "Refining "Bajan" Identity, 1930-1980" (PDF). The Journal of Caribbean History. 39 (1). Cave Hill, Barbados: The University of the West Indies: 102–122. ISSN 0047-2263. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  • "5 new folk discs out today". Georgetown, Guyana: Guyana Graphic. 1972. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  • "Daphne Joseph-Hackett Theatre reopens". Fontabelle, Saint Michael, Barbados: Nation News. 23 August 2017. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  • "Lively UWI Drama Seminar". The Star. Vol. IV, no. 12. Roseau, Dominica. 8 April 1967. pp. supplement i-ii. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  • "Unchained Cast off to CARIFESTA". Fontabelle, Saint Michael, Barbados: The Advocate News. 1972. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
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