October 2013


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Students of the theatre arts at The UWI stand to benefit from a scholarship that offers training in any aspect of theatre, with an emphasis on acting. Profits from the local staging of “O Starry Starry Night,” Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott’s latest play, will fund this scholarship.

The play, which premiered to sold-out audiences and enthusiastic reviews at the Lakeside Theatre, Essex University, England, premieres in Trinidad and Tobago at the Central Bank Auditorium, Port of Spain with a Gala on Thursday, November 7 from 7.30pm (tickets: $500) followed by three more performances on Friday 8, Saturday 9 and a matinee on Sunday 10.

Any profits will be allocated to the Derek Walcott Scholarship for Outstanding Students in the Theatre Arts at The UWI, St Augustine campus. An Actor’s Workshop for UWI and University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) students will also be held in November. \

The play is a highly poetic recording of one of the most significant and notorious moments in the history of painting: Paul Gauguin’s visit to a troubled Vincent van Gogh in Arles, France 1888. The lead roles feature Trinidad and Tobago artists Wendell Manwarren and Nigel Scott, as well as European-based compatriots, Brian Green and St Lucian actress, Nathalie La Porte; playing alongside British actors David Tarkenter and Michael Prokopiou. The musical score, which was composed by long-time friend and collaborator of Walcott’s, the award-winning composer Galt Mc Dermott (Hair) will be performed by musician Gene Lawrence. The production is directed by Walcott and Barbara Pierson. The play will be published in 2014 by Faber and Faber (UK) and Farrar, Strauss and Giroux (USA).

General/Reserved Tickets ($200/$250) are available at Paper Based, Normandie Hotel, St Ann’s 625-3197, or at the Alliance Française, St Clair, or email starrynighttrinidad@gmail.com or call 681-3358 for delivery.