A scene from one of the plays staged as part of Everyone You Love Will Dead.

“EVERYONE you love will dead.”

At least, that’s what the writers of two new Bahamian plays will have you believe. Stephen Hanna and Travis Cartwright-Carroll wrote two different yet oddly connected plays; Death on the Street and The Melancholy of Suzanna Turnquest.

The two one acts, which will be staged as an evening titled ‘Everyone You Love Will Dead’, opens at the Black Box Theatre at The Dundas Centre for The Performing Arts on Mackey Street today at 8pm.

The evening will run from the until Sunday, March 20. The Sunday performance starts at 6pm.

Former Director of Culture and College of The Bahamas lecturer Dr. Nicolette Bethel is directing The Melancholy and Erin Knowles is directing Death on the Street.

“Everyone you love will dead…that’s a line from Death on the Street,” Dr. Bethel said.

“They are both commentaries on the state of affairs that we find ourselves in the Bahamas today, New Providence in particular.

“They are about the violence that is endemic in our society that we really don’t question, that we take for granted and they push them. In each of the plays you will find truth about who we are and how we live.”

Ms. Knowles, a high school English teacher at Doris Johnson Senior High School, said Death on the Street is a “social commentary on how we react to [murder and death] on a daily basis.”

“Unfortunately we look at it as normal and our reactions tend to follow in that vein,” she said.

“I think it is necessary to see Death on the Street and really take a look at how we approach the situation and have some comic relief from ourselves.”

While Death on the Street is a comedy, and an absurdist one at that, Melancholy is a dark, brooding drama.

“It’s about a 15-year-old girl who is a very dangerous 15-year-old girl and we see her the day after her father’s funeral,” Dr. Bethel said.

“What happens after that, I hope, will really shock people.”

Melancholy features Moya Thompson, Tsekani Nash, Heather Thompson, Rashad Ferguson and Kristy Bain.

Death on the Street features Patrick Deveaux, Juan Pratt, Brentwood Thompson, Victronia Lightbourne, Shirley Joseph, Greg Stubbs and Dion Johnson.

Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at the Dundas Centre at 393-3728 and 394-7179.

Preparations under way at the Black Box Theatre.

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