Shakespeare Mas Series: Last stop of the day in Hillsborough

After parading from village to village the Shakespeare Mas players conclude in Carriacou’s main city of Hillsborough.

As the day unfolds, the Shakespeare Mas players move from the outlying villages to gather in Carriacou’s main town of Hillsborough.

The main street of Hillsborough, Carriacou during Shakespeare Mas.

Near the main wharf of Hillsborough, Carriacou.

The performance event entitled Shakespeare Mas takes up one whole day of Carriacou’s carnival. Other days are spent on events that are similar to carnival in other parts of the Caribbean like Jouvet and music and dance parades. But Shakespeare Mas is unique to Carriacou.

The day begins quietly in the outlying villages where a handful of players begin to parade into one or another of the tiny places. That’s how I saw my first Shakespeare Mas in 2009, just a few villagers sitting on the stoop of shop that sold beer, candy, and dry goods. A few cows in the nearby fields looked up from time to time. Bit by bit a few more people gathered. Then the players arrived, walking along a narrow lane. After the competition, the players moved on to another village and then another with some of the crowd forming a kind of parade to walk with them. In this last sequence of photos, you can see my experience of the final part of Shakespeare’s Mas, the grand finale, where all the players from the earlier parts of the day assembled for one last round of competitions in Carriacou’s main town of Hillsborough.