The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has sponsored the renovation of the bust of renowned, playwright and dramatist the late Mr Raymond Caleb Ayodele Charley aka Master D, at the St John roundabout in Freetown, last Saturday.
The unveiling of the newly refurbished bust was done by the UNDP communication specialist Peter Nyu Tayoung.
Speaking at the occasion, chairperson, National Association of Sierra Leone Artists (NASLA), Mrs Kitty Fadlu-Deen praised the late hero for his indelible smudge made in the drama industry, and urged artists to be part of the association which according to her “is growing”
Solemnly, Ms Cecilia Fynch relative of this artistic hero read a biography of the late man.
In her statement she said, Mr Charley who is fondly called Master D, “was born in Freetown on Saturday 27th March 1948.” She explained that the late man was educated at the St John’s primary school at Brookfields, the Tower Hill Municipal School and subsequently, the Methodist Boys High School.
“Mr D studied at the Milton Margai Teachers College (MMTC) and then taught at the Richard Allen. He lectured at MMCET and held a Masters Degree in Theatre Arts from Leeds University England,” Ms Fynch explained.
She narrated how the late man founded the Tabule Theatre, a group which he led to Festac 77 in Nigeria with his award-winning play “the blood of a stranger”
“On 8th May 1993 he dropped dead after taking a goal kick at the MMCET where he was playing football,” she explained.
In his statement, renowned dramatist and MC, Dennis Streeter said that the occasion “will definitely be remembered in the history of the Art because it signifies a total reawakening of the Performing Art.”
The Deputy Mayor Mohammed Bobson Sesay in his keynote address said, “it is time we start honouring our industrious sons and daughters of this land.”
The occasion was climaxed by musical performances from experience 7, Spano, and Lampson P.
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