Playwright narrowly escapes fiery death

After walking away with a "nasty scar" on his right arm, as he watched his entire livelihood go up in smoke, popular playwright, musician and upholster Norris 'Dickie' Chambers is thankful his life was spared following a devastating fire a month ago.

The horrific screams of 'Fire!' from his neighbours roused Chambers from his sleep about 2 a.m.

"When I saw the flames, I thought it was daylight because the place was bright, and then I realised it was a fire," he recalled. "I jumped out my sleep and tried to get some [upholstering] pieces I was working on, but the heat was so terrible, so I had to run and leave everything." He told THE STAR that this is probably one of the "worst setbacks".

"I was working at the time, so most times I'd grab a nap while working until [late] hours. So when I woke up, most of the items I was completing were still lying around. I tried to save a few things, but nothing couldn't save. All my stuff were at this location. So all my scripts for theatre, the set, musical systems, my upholstery jobs were all under one housing," he added, while noting that "for convenience" he worked from his home.

The fire, which left approximately 10 adults homeless, occurred on October 4 at East Avenue, Kingston. Chambers shared that the experience was like a movie that left him speechless.

"I just stood there and watched all my belongings going up in smoke, but I took courage in knowing that my life was saved, [though] I was the only victim who got burnt. I just felt a stinging feeling on my arm and I never knew I was burnt because the wall was so hot, and while I was trying to take out some stuff, I lean on the wall. But thank God it wasn't severe," he expressed.

The 62-year-old theatre veteran, who has been professionally honing his craft for over 37 years, said that for all the moments he created which have put a smile on people's faces and the joy he has received from doing so, he is now mentally prepared to bounce back from this setback.

"I am a warrior and I know I must bounce back. So I'm gonna find the strength now to focus more on my creative side [rather] than my trade side, because I've been doing that over the years and it kinda sap my attention from what is inside of me re[garding] theatre and music. Because I also do write music, as music was my first love, but theatre chose me," said Chambers, who was recently given a long service award from the Jamaica Roots Theatre Award show.

Chambers is known for major productions such as his breakout play, Bangarang a Yawd. He also penned the first major play in which former entertainer Lady Saw, who now goes by Minister Marion Hall, was cast ( Love Puniesha Bad).

Chambers, who is now resting with relatives, said before constructing his new home, he wants to revive the theatre spirit and revamp the atmosphere with some of his productions - old and new - along with some new musical tracks which were all inspired from his unfortunate incident. He is set to host his first major production in January, titled Burn to Heal. He has also created a crowdfunding campaign with the Real Helping Hands platform with the aforementioned title, in order to raise funds to help him "pick up the pieces" in rebuilding.