Negotiations are done. The plays have been chosen. Actors are in rehearsal and the venues are all set for the 4th annual Shakespeare in Paradise Theatre Festival. In one month, curtains officially go up on the theater festival for Nassau and the world, with five productions in five venues throughout Nassau. "Merchant" a signature Shakespeare production This is the classic tale of "The Merchant of Venice", but since our production is set in The Bahamas, the Venice part of the title has been dropped.
Gordon Mills, an actor in previous Shakespeare in Paradise productions and a veteran of the local theater scene has taken on the task of directing. For the first time in Shakespeare in Paradise's short history, the venue for the signature Shakespeare production has moved from the Dundas Center for the Performing Arts to The College of The Bahamas' Performing Arts Centre. There will be eight performances, four of which will be exclusive student matinees that will take place at 11 a.m. October 2-5. The other four performances will be open to the general public and can be seen on Thursday, October 4, which will be a special preview performance with discounted tickets for students and seniors. Friday, October 5 is the opening night for the festival and "Merchant" will be performed at 8 p.m. and again on Saturday evening at 8 p.m. The closing performance will take place at 4 p.m. on Sunday, October 7.
"Out o' Wedlock" Shakespeare in Paradise's signature Bahamian production welcomes back playwright, actress and director Jeanne Thompson with her playwright hat on this time and her newly written one act play, "Back of the Moon". One of her classics, "Father's Day" will also be presented. The evening of two one acts is being called "Out o' Wedlock" and will be directed by the festival's artistic director Philip A. Burrows with a mix of newcomers and veterans in the cast. The production will take place at the Dundas with eight public performances beginning with a special preview on Thursday, October 4. Discounted tickets for students and seniors will be offered. The remaining evening performances will take place on the October 5 opening night, and October 6, 11 and 12. "Out o' Wedlock" will also have two matinee performances, one on the 6th and the other on the 12th.
Both matinees begin at 2 p.m. "Lion City Live" As a part of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Trinidad and Tobago's independence, Shakespeare in Paradise will also present "Lion City Live". This production features Freetown, which consists of two Trinidadians, Muhammad Muwakil and Lou Lyons. The evening offers music and poetry. Performances will take place October 9 and 11 at Antonius Roberts' Hillside House and on October 13 at Nirvana. Performances begin at 8 p.m. "Mr. and Mrs. Blacke" Continuing with 50th anniversary celebrations, Shakespeare in Paradise will also present, from Jamaica, "Mr and Mrs Blacke," a play that is coming off a very successful and critically acclaimed run at the Philip Sherlock Centre at the University of the West Indies.
The cast features Keiran King, who is also the playwright, and Sakina Deer. It's directed by Paul Issa and co-produced by Raisha Lovindeer. Performances will take place at the Dundas on October 9, 10 and 12 at 8 p.m. "Speak the Speech" "Speak the Speech" is a new work created by Philip A. Burrows and compiled by Nicolette Bethel. The production will consist of a series of speeches and correspondences from the landfall of Christopher Columbus to the present day Bahamas. Appropriately, the production will take place at The Bahamas Historical Society with performances on October 8, 10, 11 and 13 at 8 p.m.
Toni Francis, Bethel and Burrows will handle the staging for the work. Research for the work came mostly from The College of The Bahamas with help from Stephen Aranha, Christopher Curry, Clifford Rahming, Michael Stevenson, Nicolette Bethel and her students. Other research help came from Reva Cartwright-Carroll, Dr. Gail Saunders and Philip A. Burrows. Tickets for Shakespeare in Paradise productions are $25. Discount ticket rates for students, seniors and groups are also available.
The best deal is the season ticket that gives you the opportunity to see all five productions with a savings of $25. The box office for Shakespeare in Paradise will open on September 17 at the Dundas Centre and will run 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday until October 13, the closing day of the festival. Telephone 431-7197 for questions about advanced bookings.
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