TI-JEAN
& HIS BROTHERS

Walcott’s work brings contemporary resonance to the mythology of the islands in his play written in 1958, which he revised and reworked throughout his life into musical, stage and film versions.

“I first heard the Ti Jean story more than sixty years ago when I was at St Mary’s College in St. Lucia, and in its form it is both a fable and a joke, with the usual fable or folktale’s architecture based on sets of three.  In this case, the Devil is dealing with three brothers, and the story defines three qualities of anger.  The older brother, Gros-Jean, depends on brute strength, the middle brother, Mi-Jean depends on phony intellectualism, and the little brother, Ti-Jean, represents innocent defiance and common sense. These three make a bet with the devil that no one will lose his temper, with the usual dire consequences to the brother if the bet is lost...the true poignancy of this fable is that the Devil actually longs to feel ordinary emotions, like joy, sorrow ...” - Derek Walcott