Errol John
Errol John was a Trinidadian playwright and actor, best known for his influential play, "Moon on a Rainbow Shawl." Born in Tobago and raised in Trinidad, John was the son of notable cricket player George John. His early career included roles as a journalist and commercial artist, but he found his true passion in theater. In the 1940s, John became actively involved in local theatrical activities, co-founding the Whitehall Players, where he engaged in various roles including acting, directing, and set design.
Frustrated by the limited opportunities for black actors in Trinidad, John wrote "Moon on a Rainbow Shawl" to create roles for them. The play, set in a slum district of Port of Spain, resonated with audiences due to its authentic characters and language, garnering critical acclaim, including a first prize in the prestigious Observer competition. Although he produced other works, none matched the impact of his celebrated play. John's legacy continues to influence Caribbean theater, highlighting the importance of representation and authenticity in the arts. He passed away in London in 1988.
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Subject Terms
Errol John
Actor
- Born: December 20, 1924
- Birthplace: Tobago
- Died: July 10, 1988
- Place of death: London, England
Biography
Although he will be remembered for his most successful play, Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, Errol John considered himself more actor than playwright. Born in Tobago and raised in the Woodbrook section of Port of Spain, Trinidad, John was the son of Trinidad’s celebrated cricket player, George John.
When John finished school, he became a journalist and commercial artist, earning a meager living in those pursuits. Throughout the 1940’s, he was involved in theatrical activities in Trinidad and helped to form an amateur group, the Whitehall Players, in Port of Prince. He worked in all aspects of theater: acting, directing, designing sets, and helping with costuming. He also wrote some indigenous one-act plays for the group in response to some theater-goers’ complaints that the Whitehall Players usually presented traditional English comedies and melodramas. As early as 1940, John played the role of a vicious bill collector in an amateur performance of Arthur Roberts’s Two Sides of the Picture, a character like Old Mack in John’s Moon on a Rainbow Shawl.
Trinidad had little to offer in drama. There were no outstanding Trinidadian playwrights and because of the widespread poverty and lack of a well-educated populace, there was little hope of maintaining a vital theater. Theater was John’s passion, and he found himself frustrated by the dim prospects in his homeland. A small group of compatriots, notably Osbourne Ashby, Cecil Herbert, Errol Hill, and John’s sisters, Jean and Lydia, shared John’s enthusiasm for theater. They constituted the backbone of the Whitehall Players. John was clearly an outstanding actor, but his options in Trinidad were limited.
In 1951, John, Hill, Louise Bennett, and Noel Vaz, received grants from the British Council to study theater in London. John first intended to concentrate on technical aspects of play production, but he soon was lured into studying acting and stage management. In 1952, John played the lead in Derek Walcott’s Henri Christophe. His unique ability was obvious, but roles for dark-skinned people were scarce. John was in demand to act in plays that involved blacks, but few such roles existed.
Frustrated by this situation, John wrote his first full-length stage play, Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, primarily to provide roles for black actors. The play is set in a yard shared by several families in a slum district of Port of Prince. Audiences appreciated the play for John’s direct and honest presentation of its characters and the authenticity of its language. In 1957, the play received first prize in the distinguished Observercompetition, chosen over excellent dramas by Ann Jellicoe, N. F. Simpson, and other prominent English playwrights. None of John’s other plays evoked the favorable response accorded Moon on a Rainbow Shawl. John continued his life as an actor, remaining in London, where he died in 1988.