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After the success of the highly popular and thoroughlyentertaining stage play Love Sax and all that Jazz, AlanCharles and the team are back for another instalment, LoveSax and all that Jazz Chapter 2 (Da Mans Dem). STWcaught of with the writer and producer of the show to findout about the new play and what he has been up to sincewe last talk.

STW By any standard Love Sax and all that Jazz has beena phenomenal success with 15 shows across the UK and aCaribbean tour of the Island of Trinidad. What do youattribute the success of the show to? Without being clichéor predictable I can only attribute the success of the showto God and the amazing and talented cast that he has givento me. The success of the show is just a miracle to me theway God worked everything out I cant stressed enough thefavour of God on the project, He has been absolutelyamazing. It’s been 18 shows in total and we still have notfinished yet.

STW So does that mean that the run of LSJ1 is not yet finished? There is still a lot of mileage in LSJ1 andwe still have some cities that we have not touched yet so yes we will be staging the show again.

STW That’s great and will be good news to many, but I want to talk to you about LSJ2 (Da Mans Dem) talkto me bro. Lol well in the first show we told the story from a female perspective with the four friends andtheir issues as it related to relationship. This time around the brodas get their say as we try to tacklerelationship issues from a male perspective hence the Da Mans Dem.

STW Wow this sounds like it’s gonna be explosive, so what are some of the issues you tackle and tell usa bit more about the story? In the show we try to address 3 basic questions; What do men want? Why domen cheat? And what defines a man?

STW So Alan you went there? We went there and we are still there!

STW OK so what do men want? We men are complicated beings and it’s not a case of one hat fits all. Weall have various needs and wants but I think in a nut shell a part from the obvious Love we also craveacceptance, respect and recognition. The trouble is each one of those words will have a different meaningto different people. So when I speak of acceptance I mean to accept me for me not for who you want meto be. I have found a common complaint from the brothers is “she wants to change me.” And in mostcase is not necessarily for the better it’s just into someone else. I say “if you wanted that someone else

ALAN CHARLEStalks Love, Sax and all that Jazz

and De Man Dem

10

After the success of the highly popular and thoroughlyentertaining stage play Love Sax and all that Jazz, AlanCharles and the team are back for another instalment, LoveSax and all that Jazz Chapter 2 (Da Mans Dem). STWcaught of with the writer and producer of the show to findout about the new play and what he has been up to sincewe last talk.

STW By any standard Love Sax and all that Jazz has beena phenomenal success with 15 shows across the UK and aCaribbean tour of the Island of Trinidad. What do youattribute the success of the show to? Without being clichéor predictable I can only attribute the success of the showto God and the amazing and talented cast that he has givento me. The success of the show is just a miracle to me theway God worked everything out I cant stressed enough thefavour of God on the project, He has been absolutelyamazing. It’s been 18 shows in total and we still have notfinished yet.

STW So does that mean that the run of LSJ1 is not yet finished? There is still a lot of mileage in LSJ1 andwe still have some cities that we have not touched yet so yes we will be staging the show again.

STW That’s great and will be good news to many, but I want to talk to you about LSJ2 (Da Mans Dem) talkto me bro. Lol well in the first show we told the story from a female perspective with the four friends andtheir issues as it related to relationship. This time around the brodas get their say as we try to tacklerelationship issues from a male perspective hence the Da Mans Dem.

STW Wow this sounds like it’s gonna be explosive, so what are some of the issues you tackle and tell usa bit more about the story? In the show we try to address 3 basic questions; What do men want? Why domen cheat? And what defines a man?

STW So Alan you went there? We went there and we are still there!

STW OK so what do men want? We men are complicated beings and it’s not a case of one hat fits all. Weall have various needs and wants but I think in a nut shell a part from the obvious Love we also craveacceptance, respect and recognition. The trouble is each one of those words will have a different meaningto different people. So when I speak of acceptance I mean to accept me for me not for who you want meto be. I have found a common complaint from the brothers is “she wants to change me.” And in mostcase is not necessarily for the better it’s just into someone else. I say “if you wanted that someone else

ALAN CHARLEStalks Love, Sax and all that Jazz

and De Man Dem

11

then don’t marry me and then try to change me waituntil you find exactly who you been looking for”.

STW I hear that and I can relate to that, I am afraid toask this next question, this is The 1 million dollarquestion. If we could truly find the answer to thisquestion then the world would be such a lovely place.Alan the writer of Love Sax and all that Jazz2 (DaMans Dem) why do men cheat? You mean you don’tknow?

STW I don’t know, so share some light my brother?Well come to the show on 11th and 12th Feb and allwill be revealed, gotcha. Why do men cheat? Ibelieve men cheat for 3 basic reasons; 1. They areselfish, greedy and immature and lack self control. 2.Variety is the spice of life and the thrill of manygardens to graze in is just too tempting after all thegrass is always greener on the other side and 3.Women allow men to cheat! I came across that ideain Steve Harvey’s book Act Like a Lady, Think Like aMan: What Men Really Think about Love,Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment. Just thinkabout it for a moment and you will see the sense inthe nonsense.

STW I don’t think you are going to get much love fromthe sisters on this one bro. Lol not true the ladies aregoing to love this show as we expose ourselves asmen in an honest, open no holds bar way baring as itwere our very souls, they are going to understand,sympathise and love us more for it.

STW I am sure they will, People always say that asequel never lives up to the original how do you thinkDa Mans Dem will stand up to LSJ1? There wasalways going to be a part 2 there was always going tobe the male’s perspective and I knew that andaccepted that. But as a began to write it and as thepart 1 became more and more popular I startedgetting anxious about whether or not Part 2 can sitside by side with part 1. And it took twice as long tofinish the script because of the fear of not measuringup. However after finishing the script and giving it tothe cast they assured me that on paper da mans dem

is a better script, better written just as funny but theI’s were dotted and the T’s crossed better in part 2than part 1. So I have no doubt now that part 2 isgoing to be as successful if not more successful thanpart 1. After all we strive to improve on our previouswork.

STW Part 1 had a lot of songs and poetry and was likea show within a show, with snap shots of varioussituations, does Da Mans Dem follow the sameformat? I did not want it to be the same exact thingwith the only difference being one was with girls andthe other with boys. So the Mans have much lesssongs and poetry. It’s less of a musical and more ofa play with a few songs thrown in for good measure.

STW So I take it we will be seeing the samecharacters from the first show? We have some newcharacters and we lost a few. We lost the interferingalways chatting people business and crowd favouriteMildred, but we kept hold of everyone’s favouritegrand ma and grand pa Betty and Leroy Smith. Thefour girls are still there and we see how there livehave progressed after 4 years with Lisa misssingleness is not a crime now married. But the mainstays of the first show are all still there.

STW Sounds very exciting, so what does the futurehold for Alan Charles? Well I am just holding mycorner doing my thing as the Lord leads. I do have amajor collaboration with John Fisher of IDMC that weare working on for mid part of 2012 so look out forthat. We also have plans to take both Part 1 and part2 to St Lucia and Antigua in 2012. In the mean timeit’s all about Love Sax and all that Jazz Chapter 2 (DaMans Dem).

To book tickets for Love Sax and all that Jazz Chapter 2 (Da man dem) call 020 8690 0002 or visitwww.broadwaytheatre.org.uk.

For more information 07989 574 066 or focusarts@yahoo.co.uk

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: ALAN CHARLES

ave you ever said these famous lines ‘I just don’t understand her’ or

I just don’t understand him’. The truth is‘understanding’ is the major key to having aharmonious relationship with the one that youlove.

The first thing to understand is that eventhough you may be the closest of soul mates &spiritually like-minded – you are still different -people are different. We all have our differenttemperaments, ways of doing things and ourlikes and dislikes. Each one of us have our own

traditions and cultures we were raised in andvarious life experiences which have shaped theway we think. When we lay a hold of this truthbefore entering a serious relationship – itenables us to have a more balanced view ofwhat we should expect from ourpartners/spouses once we’re in it.

As Christians our core values and principles areto be biblically based – but having aninaccurate understanding of these principlescan often bring conflict into what should be a very simple solution to a problem. When

H

each partner does not understand the other partners form of communication,misjudgements are often made, which canoften end up in very unpleasant situation athand.

The truth is even though we may be equal -men and women are different. God designedthe man and the woman in the way he did sothat we would ‘compliment’ one another. Eachone of us is designed with a divine purpose inmind of God and he brings a man and womantogether to fulfil that purpose that he hasplaced in our hearts.

It’s important that we may the decision to seekfirst to understand before being understood.Many a time we want to prove our point firstbefore truly understanding where the otherperson is coming from. Each person has theirown paradigm in any given circumstance,therefore many a time there needs to be aparadigm shift before we really understand theother person. The easiest way in which one cando that – is by first placing yourself in yourpartner’s shoes. How would you act if youwere in their same position? How would you‘feel’ if what you said to you? We need to taketime to ‘listen’ and understand exactly whatthey are trying to communicate. Many a timewhat a person is saying is not being received bythe hearer because the hearer has apreconceived idea of what the person actuallymeans. It is always advisable to communicateback what you feel the other person meant soas to determine whether you understood themcorrectly and to clarify any miscommunication.

When we understand that men and women’sneeds are different – one is able to see moreclearly why a partner may not be feeling veryfulfilled in the relationship. Committing to

being an understanding partner, and meetingthe other persons needs will cause each personto be more thoughtful, sensitive and respectfultowards their significant other. Many a timepeople give the other what they want and needfor themselves not necessarily what the otherpartner actually needs – which many a timecauses much frustration within a marr-iage/relationship.

When we operate by the principle of ‘seekingto understand before being understood’ mostof the misjudgements that are usually made areeliminated and each person is able to discernhow to respond and take the right course ofaction in any given situation as well as knowingwhat the more appropriate thing is to say.

Becoming an understanding person is aconscious choice one has to make and does notalways come easy for some. Our minds throughthe years have been trained to think andperceive things in a certain way by default -therefore it is only through conscious effort,prayer and patience do we master the art ofunderstanding our significant other in a moreloving and effective way.

Understanding your significant other givesthem the ‘freedom’ to be themselves withoutthe fear of being misjudged & feeling that theydo not meet up to your expectations. Whenthey can feel that they do not need to put up afront before you because of your negativereaction stemming from a lack ofunderstanding - the trust, openness andtransparency of the relationship will grow somuch deeper...creating an unbreakable bondbetween the both of you.

If this article has been a blessing to you or if you haveany comments please email realtalk@ministryinart.com