SYNOPSIS OF 'AN ECHO IN THE BONE' BY DENNIS SCOTT

SYNOPSIS OF 'AN ECHO IN THE BONE' BY DENNIS SCOTT

The Play has two Acts.
Act 1 begins with the preparations for a 'Ninth night wake ' ceremony in honor of a man named Crew by his wife Rachel, his two sons Sonson and Jacko and his daughter-in-law who is two months pregnant. His wife Rachel invites their friends Madam, Stone, Mas P, Lally, Dreamboat and the Rattler. At the Wake, the Spirit of Crew possesses Dreamboat first after he breaks an unblessed bottle of Rum. The Spirit leaves him after a ritual is carried out. The arrival of Jacko from the police station officially opens the Wake ceremony. They smoke weed and talk about Crew. They describe him as a handsome, well built blacksmith and farmer. Crew's spirit possesses Sonson and searches for his cutlass; the rest of the Characters fall into a 'dream-like' state where they are on a slave ship in 1792.Aboard the Ship, they are naked, beaten, dehumanized, tortured physically and emotionally and the Rattlers tongue is cut of for spitting on a White slave trader. The scene immediately shifts to two days before the wake in Madam's shop where it is revealed that Crew's blood stained machete, shirt and a bottle of Rum have been discovered by Lally by the river but the items are confiscated by the Police to use as a proof that Crew killed Mas Charlie, a White Man.
    The scene suddenly shifts to 1820 where three slaves are sold out in dehumanizing conditions but are made to believe that they should be happy.
    The scene again shifts to 1833 in a bush where a White man is chasing his run-away slave who has run to the hills. Jacko intercepts him, he tries to kill Jacko but Sonson arrives in time to save Jacko and tries to kill the White man. Jacko intervenes and the finally tie the White Slave master's hands and feet and stuff a handkerchief into his mouth to humiliate him.
     Act 2 opens still in the Wake ceremony with the characters describing the harrowing experiences of slavery and the 'false' freedom they have earned due to the fact that they are still treated as 'dirt' because they are Blacks. They also criticize the Mulattoes who side they Whites against the Blacks because of their fair skin.
      There is a flashback here. Rachel remembers four years before the Wake ceremony when Mas Charlie returns from England and requests to employ her as a House keeper in the 'Great house.' She rejects his offer though he reminds her of their sexual intimacy and her adoration of the Whites. Brigit and Jacko become engaged and plans for their marriage begins.
      The scene shifts to 1934 when slave trade is abolished. A slave girl flees from her master after she realizes that she is now free. Her master moans his love for the Island and his loss.
       The scene again shifts to 1937 on Crew's farm. Sonson still possessed by Crew's spirit complains about the sufferings of the Black particularly about the drying up of the River that flows into his farm. Rachel tells him that due to their poor financial state she would work in the Great House for Mas Charlie. Crew sees this as a loss of dignity and pride and rejects this vehemently. He decides to talk to Mas Charlie to channel some of the River's water flowing through the Great House to his farm. He is a bit drunk and Mas Charlie turns his request down abusively and in a degrading manner. To retain his pride, Crew strikes Mas Charlie on the chest with a sharp cutlass and he dies. Crew immediately plans to commit suicide to prevent jail terms and possible hanging.
      Sonson still possessed by Crew's spirit climbs to the roof of the house and tries to jump. Jacko persuades him to climb down so he would not kill himself. Sonson climbs down and as soon as he washes his face, Crews spirit leaves him. The characters who were formally in dispute are brought together by the revelation of the secret behind Crew's death and murder of Mas Charlie. They all realize that their past experiences, present events and future occurrences can not be reversed but that together, they can overcome. They celebrate this unity though they are mourning.