A desire to produce a Christmas play for her church that went beyond the usual Mary and Joseph themed production, led to Nordea Bryan-Jackson penning a script for “Divine Intercept.”
She started writing the play in 2016 and advanced it during COVID-19, but it wasn’t until a discussion with her daughter last year, that the mother of two decided to complete the script and launch out into production on a commercial level. As it turned out, her church’s music ministry was brainstorming fundraising ideas shortly after that heart-to-heart discussion, and when Bryan-Jackson volunteered her script for consideration, it was immediately accepted.
The first staging of the play was done at the Faith Cathedral Deliverance Centre in Kingston where Bryan-Jackson has been active in the youth and music ministries among other groups. She was able to put a cast together comprising several members of the church as well as friends who decided to lend their support to the worthy cause.
Bryan-Jackson had toyed with several titles for the play, before eventually settling on Divine Intercept. Since its debut at her church, the play was shown at the Portmore HEART Academy on Good Friday
and at the Merl Grove High School on Easter Monday to a sold-out crowd.
“I realised that during the plot, a lot of things could have happened to the detriment of the family, but each time that things were likely to happen, God just intercepted. You see the favour and goodness of God just being demonstrated in different circumstances. God intercepted at the appropriate time throughout to prevent disasters from occurring,” Bryan-Jackson said in explaining the reason behind the selection of the title.
The play centres around the Laing Family who had their fare share of upheavals which at times affected their peace of mind and strong bond. The varying twists and turns in the story’s plot keeps the audience engaged as you can’t help but wonder, what’s next? From the start, the audience is introduced to Nalrose Laing (Alesha Gordon) and her three children Sandrene, Matthew and Athalia. All are excited about the planned return of husband and father Emmanuel (Alton Newman). The roar of the airplane and the buzz of an airport intercom in the background adds to the excitement.
Nalrose works full-time, but none-the-less is able to keep things together while her husband is away. Her children are engaged in church activities and while there is the usual bout of sibling rivalry found in a typical family, they are otherwise well-mannered. Despite his time away from his family, Emmanuel has a good relationship with his children, and his distance did not diminish the passion he and his wife have for each other.
The perfect family re-union was however shattered by a home invasion which resulted in Emmanuel losing his sight. Nalrose remained strong for her family, but on those occasions when her faith wavered, she found solace in others, especially her sister Colleen who resides in England. When the extended family gathered that year for their annual get together, there is a lot to celebrate, including an unexpected miracle. The entire play is a reminder that God will always allow all things to work together for our good.
“Divine intercept is multifaceted in nature, that it doesn’t only appeal to the Christian population or the Christian environment. It appeals to anybody. If you are a part of family, these are real issues and challenges that occur in any family. The background is Christian based, but we are ministering to every single person,” Bryan-Jackson noted.
There was no opportunity for the awkward silence that generally exists during the transitional scenes of plays, as these were filled with a wide range of activities, including dance and saxophonist presentations, sign language, miming and the melodious sounds from a quartet that served up a sumptuous feasts of both contemporary and traditional favourites that the audience could sing along to.
Bryan-Jackson said putting the play together did cost her and her husband Derrick financially, but the favour of God was obvious throughout. She is still amazed at how her friends and church family willingly came together to serve in varying capacities. This support and the continuous assurance that God is with her, has embolden her to do more plays.
“I never thought that hey, my family is investing in this thing and we might never get it back. I more so looked at the fact that God has called me to do this and I am doing this, and that’s where I feel the fulfillment,” she said.
“There are two more in the pipeline, but I want to go in the rural area with this one, before I launch out with any other,” Bryan-Jackson revealed.
