Caribbean Offerings at New Perspectives Theatre Company

Banana Boat Productions in association with New Perspectives Theatre Company (NPTC) is pleased to announce Crossing Boundaries, two short plays from Trinidadian writers as part of OFF THE BOAT, a summer Caribbean Theatre Festival. Dueling Voices, by the prolific Zeno Obi Constance, is paired with Nice by Mustapha Matura (Playboy of the West Indies.) The production runs August 18 through 27th at New Perspectives Studio, 458 West 37th Street, with performances Wednesday - Saturday at 7:30pm and Sundays at 4:00pm.

NICE by Mustapha Matura (set in the early seventies) is a funny, deeply ironic story of a recent immigrant to England relaying his experience of what he perceives to be "British hypocrisy". He learns too late that what seems to be a free ride can quickly turn into a toll road. DUELING VOICES by Zeno Obi Constance is the author's most popular play. It tells the story of teenagers in an unsupervised classroom who play a game of connecting random statements about school to pass the time. This inevitably leads to the topic of sex between male teachers and their female students, and the complicated ways in which these relationships are formed and play out.

Meganne George is the Set Designer, Joyce Liao is Lighting Designer, Shykia Fields is Assistant Director. An international cast includes: Adetnuke Adetunji, Tonisha Clinton, Adam Davenport, Steven Martin, Kele Mogotsi, Denise Mosiana, and Amir Royale.

MERLINA RICH is the Founder and Artistic Director of Banana Boat Productions. As a producer, director, writer, and actor, she has been involved in various productions over the past eighteen years, all having to do with Caribbean life and its manifestation in the larger world. Among the plays Merlina has produced are Nine to Five Government Style, The New Hardware Store, Have Mouth Will Travel, All I've Got, Pretty Papers and Mamma Decemba. In partnership with the Caribbean-American Repertory Theater, she co-produced Jestina's Calypso and My Children! My Africa!, which was nominated for an Audelco Award in 2004. With New Perspectives Theatre Company she has produced WOMEN IN TRANSITION, TRUTHS & ACCOMMODATIONS, and multiple incarnations of The Ritual. She is very active in outreach to and collaboration with a range of Caribbean cultural and social organizations to foster greater connections within the community and provide needed services and support to Caribbean peoples. Through her many years as a flight attendant with American Airlines, Merlina has worked with the United Nations and other groups to provide health care to needy children across the Caribbean, and bring supplies and financial support to schools in Jamaica.

ZENO OBI CONSTANCE was a graduate teacher at the Fyzabad Composite School in Trinidad for 36 years, where he taught Spanish, Literature, Theatre Arts and Drama. In 1985 he was the winner of the National Cultural Council's playwriting competition with 'Duelling Voices'. In 2003 he was honored with the vanguard Cacique Award for his contribution to theatre at Secondary Schools where he has captured the Original Playwriting Award an unprecedented 15 times since 1978. He was selected as the Best Director at both the 2007 and 2008 Prime Minister's Best Village Trophy Folk competition. In 1979, The Ritual, earned him both fame and notoriety when it was cut from national television in mid-production. His plays have been performed locally in numerous festivals, regionally in other Caribbean countries and internationally.

Mustapha Matura was born in Trinidad and came to England in 1961. He co-founded the Black Theatre Co-operative with the director Charlie Hanson in 1978 forr which he wrote the highly successful No Problem! His plays include: Rum an' Coca Cola (Royal Court Theatre and off-Broadway); Another Tuesday and More, More (the Factory, London); A Dying Business (Riverside Studios, London); One Rule (Riverside Studios); The Playboy of the West Indies (Oxford Playhouse and BBC television); Trinidad Sisters (Tricycle Theatre); and The Coup (Royal National Theatre). His book Mustapha Matura Six Plays contains As Time Goes By. Nice, Play Mas, Independence, Welcome Home Jacko and Meetings. Mustapha received the Trinidad and Tobago Government Scarlet Ibis Award.

BANANA BOAT PRODUCTIONS was established in 1998 with the aim of creating theatrical experiences of specific interest to the English-speaking Caribbean community of the greater New York metropolitan area. Our operating premise is this: the Caribbean culture is a multicolored and rich palette of expressions, experiences, and lifestyles that is in need of more exposure in the realm of truly meaningful theater. Banana Boat Productions seeks out plays that focus very specifically on dramatic themes that reflect the historical and cultural development of Caribbean life as well as the present reality of Caribbean culture as it has settled into other global settings. We attempt to bring thought-provoking and realistic theatrical experiences to people who can identify, reflect upon, and appreciate the relevance to their own lives. In this context, our productions can be seen as experiential instruments to promote a greater elaboration, a deeper understanding, and more respectful view of oneself-in this case, a Caribbean self.

NEW PERSPECTIVES THEATRE COMPANY is an award-winning, multi-racial company performing in the Theatre District and communities throughout NYC. Now celebrating its 25th season, notable productions have included Richard III, starring Austin Pendleton; The Taming of the Shrew (OOBR Award for Excellence), Exhibit #9 by Tracy Scott Wilson (Audelco Award); Jihad, The Play by Ann Chamberlain (OOBR Award for Excellence and moving to Off-Broadway next season); Admissions by Tony Velella (10 Best Plays Citation, Backstage); the premiere of The Shaneequa Chronicles by OBIE-Winner Stephanie Berry (with Blackberry Productions); Anatomy of a Love Affair by Deirdre Hollman (Optioned by Essence Entertainment); MOTHER OF GOD! by Michele Miller (Princess Grace Foundation Finalist) the U.S. and English-language premiere of Visit by world-renowned Argentinean playwright Ricardo Monti; and the New York Premieres of Vaclav Havel's The Increased Difficulty of Concentration, OBIE-Winner Stephanie Berry's The Shaneequa Chronicles (produced with Blackberry Productions), and Lemon Meringue Façade by Ted Lange. Our aim is not to exclude, but to cast a wider net.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:

August 18 to 27, 2016; Wednesday - Saturday, 7:30 pm; Sundays at 4:00pm

New Perspectives Studio; 458 West 37th Street, Gr Floor (@ 10th Avenue)

Call 212-630-9945 or email bananabpro@gmail.com for reservations