On a night that saluted our Caribbean stories and the art of storytelling, prolific playwright Basil Dawkins was the toast of the 20th anniversary staging of the Actor Boy Awards as his marriage and emancipation saga, For Better or Worse, claimed top honours, nabbing six coveted statuettes, including prizes for Best Production, Best Director (Douglas Prout), Best New Jamaican Play and Best Drama, among others.
“[For Better or Worse] was not an easy production to stage,” Dawkins said of the daring work that offers an eye-opening meditation on domestic issues and taboo themes while equally pushing the creative envelope. “It called for sensitivity, and, as director, Douglas Prout was able to bring that to the production.”
Chris Daley, who gave a career-defining performance in the play, was named Best Actor while his co-star and early favourite Terri Salmon took Best Supporting Actress. Awards were handed out at the Courtleigh Auditorium in New Kingston on Monday during a show that successfully showcased a range of tremendous Jamaican talent across the age groups.
Running for a little over three hours, the awards show was delightfully hosted by Fae Ellington, who took the audience through a well-scripted series of tales on the history of Jamaican theatre, with superb support coming from announcer Andrew Lawrence, dancer Adrian Wanliss and a competent batch of performers. Despite occasional minor delays, the proceedings flowed smoothly, and most of the performances (including play excerpts) hit the outstanding performance mark – notably a strongly acted scene from Trevor Rhone’s Two Can Play by Nadean Rawlins and Alwyn Scott, an engrossing speech item from the Calabar Jr. High ensemble and a stirring, powerhouse finale rendition of the duet “This Is The Moment” from Andrew Clarke and Aisha Davis.
Meanwhile, David Tulloch (Mo’Bay Vibes) was among the night’s other notable winners, sweeping the music categories by winning Best Original Song, Score and Revue. The Father HoLung & Friends’ production of Jam Reggae Opera was named Best Musical; Pablo Hoilett’s The Love List took Best Comedy while the Jamaica Junior Theatre Company added another Best Children’s Theatre trophy to its impressive stash for Beauty & The Beast. Nadia Khan won Best Actress for her adorably wacky Justine in The Love List while a sombre Rodney Campbell collected the Best Supporting Actor prize for 4 Play.
In keeping with the storytelling motif, Guyanese-Jamaican author, playwright and educator Jean Small was presented with the Special Actor Boy Award For Excellence in Theatre during a presentation set helmed by Carolyn Allen and a venerable trio of drama queens: Grace McGhie, Christine Bell and Leonie Forbes.
In her lengthy though eloquent acceptance speech, Small, who first came to
In the meantime, as part of the memorabilia to commemorate the 20th staging of the Actor Boy Awards, a special anniversary calendar was unveiled, which includes photo features of some of Jamaica’s brightest and emerging young talent in the theatre arts. Now on sale, copies are available at a cost of $1000 through the International Theatre Institute (ITI) – Jamaica Chapter.
