PLAYWRIGHT'S/DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE
Tales in de Forest primarily showcases elements of folklore characters and stories from Trinidad and Barbados. It is set in Papa Bois’ forest, where folklore characters present themselves to the human audience. The characters lament that, in recent years, they have been forgotten and are therefore excited to see humans in the forest once again. For this reason, they delight in the opportunity to tell some of their stories to you, their audience.
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Many of these characters are often portrayed as being mischievous and/or frightening, but tonight, they simply want to have a good time… but be warned – if you want to keep them happy, yuh bes’ sing when dem tell yuh to!
Safe & Sound? - DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE
The 2017 Hurricane Season was one of the most severe which has affected our region in recent years. The devastation which our islands faced was unimaginable to many of us who did not experience it first-hand, yet we all empathize with what our neighbours have been facing in the aftermath. Safe and Sound? was devised out of a series of class activities to help us process our own feelings about, and responses to the regional devastation. With some persons in the class being affected by one or both of the devastating storms, this process also served as an outlet to express our pain and our fears. Safe and Sound? combines elements of dance, drama, music and experiments with the use of sound and shadows to share the results of our process with you. We used songs, movement, poems and stories as stimuli for creating the work. It is my hope that you will be provoked to engage in the same meaningful reflection which informed our process. This is not a performance that is meant to be ‘enjoyed’, but should rather elicit a call to action where we are moved to support each other, especially in such times as these.
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Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3 - PLAYWRIGHT'S/DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE
Originally commissioned by The Ministry of Tourism and International Transport, Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3 looks at issues relating to HIV and AIDS in the Tourism sector. This performance, written by Michelle Cox, was specifically for an audience of Tourism workers, but the content is relevant to all. Issues are presented from various perspectives while encouraging the audience to join in discussing the issues presented.
PLAYWRIGHT'S/DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE
John Belly Mama… and other stories features Mama and her friend Eunice who are teaching young people about the stories behind Barbadian songs and games. Through this interactive presentation, members of the audience join in the reminiscing and fun by participating in the songs and games. Several Barbadian folk songs are staged, some of which are familiar to all, while others are more familiar to older generations. The stories show different periods and ways of life in Barbados, and resurrect memories of a time not-so-long ago… and in Mama’s case, a time she’d rather forget.
PLAYWRIGHT'S/DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE
Millie Gone to Brazil is one of the more popular folk songs of Barbados, and one which tells the true story of a gruesome incident of domestic violence. Set at the wake for Millie, the characters embark on a mission to discover the truth about what happened between Millie and her partner, Bailey. Through the use of flashbacks, song and dance, the audience is taken on a journey through which they hear of other Barbadian mysteries, including the theories surrounding Millie’s death.
PLAYWRIGHT'S/DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE
As a theatre artist, my interest lies in the re-presentation of marginalised groups and/or stories, in the hope that my work will somehow respond to the need to archive these often-forgotten narratives. It was therefore by no accident that, when I considered The Tempest as the production for Portfolio, I reimagined the play from a different perspective – what if the story was being told by the marginalised characters? What if this story, which is originally set in the Caribbean, suggested a different outcome that didn’t praise the efforts of the colonisers?
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De Tempest is a story that speaks to the subversiveness of our people. It speaks to our ability to overcome the unwanted masters through a cunningness and disguise that is characteristic of the masquerade culture which is pervasive throughout our region. For this reason, I have deliberately chosen to portray the ‘local’ characters through masquerade. The flow of the text has been infused with the musicality of our people and the ‘drum’ is used as a symbol of rebellion.
CO-PLAYWRIGHT'S/DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE
Anthony Hinkson, has always been known for using his work to give voice to otherwise voiceless people, with an unapologetic bias towards the lower economic classes of Barbados, and Angel in White is no different. A sequel to Hinkson’s Teacher Teach ‘er which was written in the 1980’s, this play’s title is a metaphor not only for the drug trade, but also for the larger theme which permeates the play - a search and desire for escape. While the text is essentially fictional, the issues which will be presented are not. With a script which was updated by daughter, Michelle Hinkson-Cox, this play is one which will inspire discussion from boardrooms to blocks, and perhaps create some level of awareness that could potentially spark positive action.
PLAYWRIGHT'S/PRODUCER'S MESSAGE
Theatre has the capacity to archive the lives, histories and stories of a people and How Hard the Times fulfills that social responsibility. Based on events surrounding the 1937 disturbances, this play represents the lives of real people and interrogates the social and economic conditions that led to the disturbances, rather than focusing on the ‘riots’ themselves.
This production evolved from an Anthology which bears the same name and was penned by Barbadian playwright/poet, Anthony Hinkson. This play weaves a story that connected some of those poems, but represented the stories as told through research and Oral History accounts. If this production is to be a tribute to our Elders and Ancestors (which it is), then their voices are the ones which need to be heard.
OTHER PLAYS & PROJECTS
2018
4 Short Screen Plays
General Boussa; Loving the Skin I'm In; Money is Trouble & Trouble is Money; Mama's Story
Written for the Barbados Commission for Pan African Affairs
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2017
Scarlet Gala Performance, featuring Bimprov
Barbados Museum & Historical Society
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2015
CARICOM Day Cultural Presentation
Artistic Director/Script Writer
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