Review: BOB MARLEY: HOW REGGAE CHANGED THE WORLD at the Ottawa Fringe Festival

Bob Marley: How Reggae Changed the World is unlike other shows at the Ottawa Fringe Festival this year. Duane Forrest combines storytelling, history and music and creates a feeling of warmth and harmony within the audience in one short hour.

Forrest is a Toronto based playwright and songwriter. He begins by giving some background about himself and his family, who were West Africans brought to Jamaica in the slave trade. Forrest explains that even though he grew up listening to reggae music, it wasn’t until he learned about the meaning behind the lyrics, that he became truly connected to the music. He shares some of that knowledge with the audience and plays familiar songs that are given more power through enhanced understanding, including Marley’s “One Love” and “Buffalo Soldier”. The audience is invited to sing along, creating a sense of togetherness and a connection between the artist and the crowd. Forrest also shares a reggae song that he wrote, with a setting in his hometown of Scarborough.

He has some fun with mashups too, like Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O (Banana Boat Song)” and Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”. Even Sting's "Englishman in New York" makes an apperance. The audience has a fabulous time singing along and Forrest's enthusiasm is infectious. It truly looks as though he is finding joy in sharing his culture and the roots of reggae music with the audience. In return, he asks that the we carry his people and their stories with us when we hear these songs again in the future. Despite some of the sombre topics, you cannot help but leave the theatre with a smile on your face.

If Bob Marley: How Reggae Changed the World were expanded into a full-length show to include more personal anecdotes, deeper incorporation of the historical and political background of reggae, and the addition of a band and more of Forrest’s original songs to complement the existing familiar ones, I can easily picture this show being presented off Mirvish in Toronto, or even off-Broadway in New York.