In eight days the curtains will go up on the fourth annual Shakespeare in Paradise Theatre Festival, with five productions at five venues around New Providence. Following is a listing of the productions, along with the dates and times they will play so that you can set your schedule accordingly. Tickets for "Shakespeare in Paradise" productions are $25. Discounted ticket rates are also available for students, seniors and groups. The best deal is the season ticket to see all five productions with a savings of $25.

The box office for "Shakespeare in Paradise" opened on September 17 at the Dundas Centre. Tickets will be sold Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Saturday, October 13, the closing day of the festival. For questions about advance bookings, contact 431-7197. Speak the Speech "Speak the Speech" is a new Bahamian historical work created by Artistic Director Philip A. Burrows and compiled by Festival Director Nicolette Bethel. Research for this work came mostly from Bethel and her colleagues at The College of The Bahamas - Stephen Aranha, Christopher Curry, Clifford Rahming and Michael Stevenson.

Other research assistance was provided by Reva Cartwright-Carroll, Dr. Gail Saunders and Philip A. Burrows. The production consists of speeches and correspondences beginning with the 1492 landfall to Bahamian Independence. Toni Francis, Nicolette Bethel and Philip A. Burrows will stage this work and it will feature COB students and a few surprise guest speakers. The artwork for this production is by Zyandric Jones. Art direction is by Julia Ames. "Speak the Speech" will take place at The Bahamas Historical Society on the following dates and times: Monday, October 8 at 8 p.m. Wednesday, October 10 at 8 p.m.

Thursday, October 11 at 8 p.m. Saturday, October 13 at 8 p.m. ­Mr. & Mrs. Blacke Coming off a very successful and critically acclaimed run at the Philip Sherlock Centre at the University of the West Indies, "Mr and Mrs Blacke" is an offering by Shakespeare in Paradise to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jamaica's independence. The cast features Keiran King, who is also the playwright, and Sakina Deer. Paul Issa directs, and the play is co-produced by Raisha Lovindeer. "Mr and Mrs Blacke" has been described as having moments of excellence.

The artwork for this production is by Lindsay Braynen. Art direction by Julia Ames. "Mr and Mrs Blacke" will be performed at the Dundas on the following dates and times: Tuesday, October 9 at 8 p.m. Wednesday, October 10 at 8 p.m. Saturday, October 13 at 8 p.m. Lion City Live Trinidad and Tobago celebrated their 50th anniversary of independence this year, and Shakespeare in Paradise wanted to celebrate with them. So an invitation was sent to Muhammad Muwakil and Lou Lyons who form the group Freetown and they graciously accepted.

Here's what they say about themselves: "Freetown is a resurgence of music and philosophy. From the firm groundations of Rastafari and Islam, born on the diverse island of Trinidad come forward two young men carrying the banner flag of a generation yet to properly define itself. Philosophers at heart, poets and musicians, the concept of 'Freetown' follows on the concept of the personal burden of each individual to create a free town in his or her mind firstly, once free one can free others, in essence to create a free town out of every single individual we encounter on this journey. Since their journey began, the brothers have been to London, Guyana, Grenada and Cuba and have received national songwriting awards in Trinidad. Currently they are working on their first album which is also the soundtrack for a movie being shot by the Blue Cinamon Group out of Los Angeles called 'God Loves the Fighter'." The artwork for this production is by Reuno Pratt.

Art direction by Julia Ames. "Lion City Live" will be performed at Hillside House and at Nirvana on the following dates and times: Tuesday, October 9 at 8 p.m. at Hillside House Thursday, October 11 at 8 p.m. at Hillside House Saturday, October 13 at 8 p.m. at Nirvana Out o' Wedlock Jeanne Thompson is probably best known as a writer for her 1970s radio soap opera "The Fergusons of Farm Road". She has written a number of plays and has also acted onstage. Thompson's newest work, "Back of the Moon", will be produced for the first time as part of an evening of one act plays that we are calling "Out o' Wedlock".

The second play to be performed will be Thompson's classic work, "Father's Day". Set in the 1950s, "Back of the Moon" explores what happens when Maude, a local maid, accuses an Englishman, a religious minister, of fathering her child. This comedy takes place in a communal yard shared by four families from the tiny Black Bahamian middle class. Together with other members of the community, they first enjoy the gossip associated with the ongoing scandal, but are increasingly forced to choose sides when Maude takes the Englishman to court for maintenance. This evening of one acts is directed by Philip A. Burrows. The artwork for this production is by June Collie.

Art direction by Julia Ames. "Out o' Wedlock" will be performed at the Dundas on the following dates and times: Thursday, October 4 at 8 p.m. (Student and seniors preview) Friday, October 5 at 8 p.m. Saturday, October 6 at 2 p.m. Saturday, October 6 at 8 p.m. Thursday, October 11 at 8 p.m. Friday, October 12 at 2 p.m. Friday, October 12 at 8 p.m. Saturday October 13 at 2 p.m. Merchant "Merchant", a tragicomedy (originally titled "The Merchant of Venice") by William Shakespeare, is believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598.

Though classified as a comedy in the first folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic scenes, and is best known for "Shylock" and the famous "Hath not a Jew eyes" speech, or in our production "Hath not a Haitian eyes". Also notable is the speech by 'Portia' about the "quality of mercy". For this production, the play has been edited and updated by director Gordon Mills. The title character is the merchant Antonio, not the Haitian numbers runner Shylock, who is the play's most prominent and most famous character.

This play is directed by Gordon Mills who is assisted by Erin Knowles. The artwork for this production is by the production's own Gratiano, Matthew Wildgoose. Art direction by Julia Ames. Merchant will be performed at the College of The Bahamas Performance Arts Centre (PAC) on the following dates and times: Tuesday, October 2 at 11 a.m. (Student matinee) Wednesday, October 3 at 11 a.m. (Student matinee) Thursday, October 4 at 11 a.m. (Student matinee) Thursday, October 4 at 8 p.m. (Student and seniors preview) Friday, October 5 at 11 a.m. (Student matinee) Friday, October 5 at 8 p.m. Saturday, October 6 at 8 p.m. Sunday, October 7 at 4 p.m. (Gala performance, $35).

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian