Performing the Ground: Theatre, Memory, and the Caribbean Aesthetic
Theatre is more than performance. It is memory, inheritance, and a way of knowing. It is also a method of excavation.
In this episode of Saltwater Reasonings, I am in conversation with Michelle Hinkson-Cox about theatre as memory work, pedagogy, archaeology, and Caribbean cultural practice.
We begin with a moment of recognition. Michelle reflects on how theatre became one of her love languages, shaped first by the legacy of her father, Anthony Hinkson, and then deepened through a formative awakening in Trinidad, where Rawle Gibbons helped her see the regional significance of his work for the first time.
This episode honours lineage. We name shared mentors and theatre practitioners such as Dani Lyndersay and Louis McWilliams, and reflect on the formative moments that shaped us at the Department of Creative and Festival Arts at The UWI, St Augustine Campus.
The conversation opens into a wider reflection on artistic inheritance, self-making, and the labour of carving out a practice that is both grounded and distinctly one’s own. Together, we think through Caribbean theatre as archive, as pedagogy, and as a living site of memory, where archaeology and performance meet.
This episode invites listeners to consider performance not only as art, but as a way of knowing, remembering, and becoming.
What this Episode Offers
A reflection on theatre as a method of excavation, where memory, history, and embodiment meet
Insight into artistic inheritance and the negotiation between lineage and self-making
A grounded exploration of Caribbean theatre as archive, pedagogy, and cultural practice
The relationship between theatre and archaeology in understanding the Caribbean as a living site of memory
Reflections on mentorship, lineage, and the shaping of Caribbean cultural practitioners
A conversation on building creative practice within and beyond institutional spaces
An invitation to consider performance as a way of knowing, remembering, and becoming
References & Resources
Websites: https://michellecox.academia.edu/
https://rhemaacts.wixsite.com/home
Aiyejina, F., & Gibbons, R. (1999). Orisa (Orisha) tradition in Trinidad. Caribbean Quarterly, 45(4), 35–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/00086495.1999.11671867
Gibbons, R. (1995). Theatre and Caribbean self-definition. Modern Drama, 38(1), 52–59. https://doi.org/10.3138/md.38.1.52
Gibbons, R. (1999). Introductory remarks/reflexions/palabras pronunciadas. Caribbean Quarterly, 45(2/3), viii–xviii.
Gibbons, R. (1999). A calypso trilogy: Ten to one; Ah wanna fall; Sing de chorus. Ian Randle Publishers.
Gibbons, R. (2013). Love trilogy: I Lawah, Shepherd, Ogun Ayan. Arawak Publications.
Hall, K. R. N., & Hinkson-Cox, M. A. (2021). Applied theatre practice as a tool for community history and heritage education. Journal of Education in Museums
Hinkson-Cox, M. A. (2016). Intermedial museum performance: A reflection on the use of intermedial performance as a medium of immersion at the Barbados Museum and Historical Society. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 21(3), 349–354.
Hinkson-Cox, M. A. (2017). [Review of the book Survivor: A collection of plays for children and young adults, by P. Springer]. Presented at the African Theatre Association Annual Conference, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados.
Hinkson-Cox, M. A. (2021). The Baku; The Specialist [Monologues]. In Voices: Caribbean monologues for actors.
Hinkson-Cox, M. A., & Hall, K. R. N. (2022). Applied theatre practice as a tool for community heritage education. Journal of Education in Museums
Hinkson-Cox, M. A. (n.d.). Community performance in museums and heritage sites in Barbados: A critical reflection on developing the practice.
Hinkson-Cox, M. A. (n.d.). Reminiscence: A tool for the inclusion of elders in the Barbadian society.
Hinkson-Cox, M. A. (n.d.). The impact of the cultural process on the performance of Ramleela in Trinidad.
Hinkson-Cox, M. A. (n.d.). The possibilities and limitations of prison theatre.
Hinkson-Cox, M. A. (n.d.). Theatre and drama techniques in the primary curriculum of Barbados.
