A cast of local theatre veterans took the stage at the Trinidad Theatre Workshop (TTW) on October 27 to present a reading of One From Ten (Leaves Naught), a new play by Tony Hall.The reading was staged by the National Drama Association (NDATT) as part of this year's National Drama Festival, which was held in honour of Hall's work.The play imagines some of the Caribbean region's political and cultural luminaries trapped in a sort of limbo-cum-retirement home.The group–including Eric Williams, Alexander Bustamante, Grantley Adams, Cheddi Jagan, Louise Bennett, Edna Manley and Beryl McBurnie–exchange banter and sometimes barbs as they examine the history of the region and the failed Federation of the West Indies in the 1950s.
The politicians, all in wheelchairs, are obsessed with escaping from the space through a doorway–although, as Hall explained, there are no walls.During a discussion at the end of the reading, audience members discussed interpretations of the work and asked the playwright about his intentions. Hall said the play was written "in the moment" without prior planning. He said he used a process where he tried to allow the characters to speak in their own voices; the result was an experiment in non-linear storytelling, from which he wanted viewers to take away their own conclusions.The reading featured TTW artistic director Albert Laveau, Michael Cherrie, Ronald John, Errol "Blood" Roberts, Arnold "Pinny" Goindhan, Eunice Alleyne, Teresa Awai, Susan Hannays Abraham, Cecilia Salazar and Evelyn Caesar-Munroe. TTW assistant artistic director Timmia Hearn Feldman presented the reading.