It's been said time and again that The Bahamas has much more to offer its citizens and its visitors than sun, sand and sea. With an abundance of talent in the country's arts community, it seems no wonder that repertory theater company Ringplay Productions could extend that alliteration with the addition of "Shakespeare". For the past six years, the company has been producing the Shakespeare in Paradise Theatre Festival.
An annual event, the non-profit festival is held in October and celebrates the performing arts by staging a series of productions, one of which is a signature Shakespeare play.
The idea of holding a local theater festival came to Dr. Nicolette Bethel and Philip Burrows almost 3,000 miles from home, in Ashland, Oregon.
"We took students to a festival held in the little town of Ashland. When you get there, you can see theater of a quality as good as and better than what you see on Broadway for a fraction of the cost. So we thought, 'Well if they can do it, why can't Nassau do it?' When we came back, in 2000, we had in our minds a theater festival," said Bethel.
Bethel and Burrows knew that a modest start with a solid foundation would be the best way forward. They chose to center the festival on Shakespeare's productions - it doesn't take much guessing why. The classic renaissance plays have transcended cultural boundaries for four centuries.
"Shakespeare is part of every theater practitioner's repertoire. Shakespeare is popular as well as classical. We thought, 'We can do Shakespeare in The Bahamas, so we'll have a Shakespeare festival'," said Bethel.
Making the event a sustainable one was the duo's objective, and so far, they and the other Ringplay Productions team members have been successful. Bethel also hopes that, by incorporating the classic Shakespearean productions, the festival will be 'legitimized' on a global scale.
"It's a way of legitimizing the festival internationally as well as locally, and it also builds confidence in Bahamian audiences and Bahamian performers, because we have a tendency in the Caribbean - certainly in the wake of independence - of rejecting and turning our backs on everything that smacked of British colonialism. One of those things was the centrality of Shakespeare. But I think, and experience and observation suggests, that that's not one of the things that we needed to excise from our repertoires."
This year, the festival takes place October 3-13 and features "Romeo and Juliet", "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf", "Sizwe Banzi is Dead" and "Bruce Katooska: Laughter is the Best Magic!".
Under the directorship of Philip Burrows, the Shakespeare in Paradise version of "Romeo and Juliet" substitutes a Bahamian-Haitian relationship in place of the classic Montague-Capulet affair. It stars Matthew Deveaux and Angelique White.
Also directed by Burrows, "Sizwe Banzi is Dead" is set in apartheid South Africa and tells the story of a black South African looking for work in Port Elizabeth. His passbook gives him permission to stay for three days to find work before facing deportation. He is faced with making a grim decision when he encounters the body of a man with a work permit.
Back by popular demand, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf" features the same performers who stunned audiences in the Dundas' black box theater earlier this year. The production will be directed again by Bethel, and, if July's ticket sales are any indication, it is expected to be a box office hit.
"Bruce Katooska: Laughter is the Best Magic!" offers a special treat for primary school-aged children. This magic show will offer 10 primary school performances from October 5-10. School administrators who want to book the show should contact the Shakespeare in Paradise box office.
With weeks to go before the season opens, casting has long been completed and actors are facing nightly rehearsals at the Dundas. The stars of the shows aren't the only ones putting in the hours, though. Each season, an average of 50 to 70 volunteers - who include cast members, backstage crew and box office personnel - are involved in helping to make Shakespeare in Paradise a success.

Their hard work has made the festival popular with locals. According to Bethel, ticket sales for the Shakespeare in Paradise season are in the region of 4,000-4,500. Two-thirds of these are student tickets, which are offered at heavily discounted rates.
"One of the reasons why we operate at a breakeven environment is because we offer student tickets at $10 a head...Each seat is worth about $16-$18 in real money, if we're working at full occupancy. If we're operating at two-thirds occupancy, that means each seat is $23. So we can be losing between $8 to $13 on each [student ticket], but we believe that is an investment that is worth making," said Bethel.
Now in the midst of preparation, Bethel has already seen demands from festival goers for tickets.
"It's our sixth year, which I think is an achievement," she said. "I think it'll be more of an achievement when we get to the 10th year, but I think that the fact that we've been able to keep it going for six years is really something to be proud of. Of course our audience is a part of it. The fact that we have people calling now, and it's just the beginning of September, to book their tickets is an indication that the audience looks forward to it."
Those interested in finding out more or getting involved in Shakespeare in Paradise are encouraged to visit the event's website, at http://shakespeareinparadise.org/, or Facebook page, at https://www.facebook.com/ShakespeareInParadisesupport, where they can sign up for the festival's mailing list. Anyone interested in supporting the Shakespeare in Paradise season is asked to make checks out to Shakespeare In Paradise or contact the Dundas on 393-3728 or 394-7179 to find out more about making cash donations or direct deposits.

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