In 2015, as Walcott celebrates his 85th birthday, a group of local theatre aficionados have formed an NGO calling itself Monkey Mountain to commemorate Walcott's achievements in theatre. Monkey Mountain will stage three of his plays at the Little Carib Theatre during the year.
A release from the NGO said the selections include Ti Jean and his Brothers (May 2015), Beef No Chicken (July 2015), and O Babylon (November 2015). Interestingly, O Babylon (a reggae musical) has not been seen on local stages since its initial run nearly 40 years ago in both Trinidad and Jamaica.
Many of Walcott's plays had their premier performances in T&T. Walcott founded the Trinidad Theatre Workshop, out of which emerged such distinguished names like Errol Jones, Claude Reid, Albert La Veau, Wilbert Holder, Eunice Alleyne and Stanley Marshall. Walcott's plays are also intimately identified with the Little Carib Theatre, where so many of these productions were first staged.
Derek Walcott is an icon of Caribbean theatre. His works have been staged internationally, and are significant for their explorations of Caribbean life and issues. His career as a playwright dates back to the 1950's, and includes such classics as Ti Jean and his Brothers, Pantomime, Dream on Monkey Mountain, The Joker of Seville and The Odyssey. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992 for his work in poetry and theatre.
Monkey Mountain is excited about the collaboration between Walcott, the Little Carib Theatre, several key potential sponsors and itself in bringing Walcott to life onstage once again.
More info
�2 For further information, please contact: Allison Nordgren at
682-3892, Monkey Mountain at 713-2303 or visit the Facebook
page Monkey-Mountain.